While Hollywood seems eager to ring the death knell for Tom Cruise — and certainly this story won’t help public perception and will give fodder to those ready to write the actor’s obituary from A-list status — the bottom line is that he’s still a megastar and an international box office draw. The supposed “failure” “Knight & Day” is nearing $200 million worldwide and is yet to open in the UK or Japan (it opens in Brit theaters tomorrow).
Today Vulture reports that Tom Cruise will be paid scale (the minimum allowed by the Screen Actors Guild) for his role in the upcoming “Mission: Impossible 4” with a “back-end after cash break-even” agreement that will see him probably net ten of millions if the film is a success (and really, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be as long he doesn’t jump on couches or berate Matt Lauer again on national televsion).
When “Knight & Day” failed to blow up the box office, many speculated that ‘M:I 4’ would be canceled or Cruise himself would be reduced to a smaller role, advising a new, up-and-coming agent. Hell, Paramount had to even come out and confirm Cruise was going to be in the film to quell the rumors.
And while many will point to Cruise’s reduced salary as another sign that the Paramount is worried, it should be reminded that the era of A-listers routinely getting massive paydays was over a long, long time ago. You probably all know their names — Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Denzel Washington — but you what the one thing that unites them all? They have been around for years and represent an era that no longer really exists; no young actors currently will ever pull in the upfront salaries these actors have in the past. Oh sure, Kristen Stewart is getting $12.5 million for “Breaking Dawn” but she’s going to make boatloads more thanks to a deal that will see her earn 2.5% of the film’s gross. And remember “Yes Man” with Jim Carrey? He also worked on that movie for scale and walked home with $30 million in his pocket thanks to a deal similar to Cruise’s.
So, don’t worry about Tom Cruise, he’ll be just fine. “Mission: Impossible 4” will shoot this fall and is scheduled to hit theaters on December 16, 2011.