This weekend, the $100 million remake of “Ben-Hur” charged into theaters only for the chariot wheels to come flying off with the film opening to dismal numbers, and becoming one of the biggest flops of the year. And for Paramount Pictures, the movie underscored what has been a truly rough 2016 for the studio. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” and “Zoolander 2” all underperformed, while “Star Trek Beyond” — which is being painted as a success — sees domestic ticket sales way down for the franchise, with the film not expected to hit the worldwide benchmark numbers the studio would like to see. This will all lead, according to The New York Times, to a potential loss this year for Paramount of $350 million. Ouch. And it might explain why they are looking to tighten the money faucet on “Mission: Impossible 6.”
Deadline reports that initial pre-production on the followup to “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” has been halted either because Paramount wants Tom Cruise, Bad Robot and Skydance to cut down their fees and/or Cruise wants Paramount to step up and pay him the same bank he’s earning from Universal for “The Mummy.”
So, why might Paramount might be concerned about the spend on what is perceived as their slam dunk franchise? Increasingly, the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series has become dependent on international box office to succeed, to the extent that ‘Rogue Nation’ earned 71% of its total theatrical haul from foreign ticket sales (and it should be noted it cost slightly more than “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol,” but earned less overall). So it makes sense that as Christopher McQuarrie pulls together the script, Paramount buckles down and really figures out what kind of budget they can live with, particularly in this kind of fickle blockbuster climate, and especially when Cruise commands an eight-figure salary against back end profits.
All this being said, everyone involved will be working to make this happen, because there are few properties as stable as “Mission: Impossible.” And there’s plenty of time for everyone to get on the same page as production is not slated to begin until January.