Mission Impossible 6 Delayed Due to Pay Dispute With Tom Cruise

Mission: Impossible might be one of the most lucrative movie franchises around, but it seems that its success does not automatically guarantee further films. It has been reported that the sixth part in the action series is on hold because of a pay dispute with star Tom Cruise.

According to Deadline, Paramount have put the brakes on Mission: Impossible 6 while contract negotiations with Cruise are ongoing. The film is already in pre-production in London while writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, who directed Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation as well as Jack Reacher, works on the script. However, staff have now been told to cease work until further notice.

The site reports that there are two alternate explanations. The first is that Paramount wants to reduce the budget, which will involve Cruise taking a pay cut. The other is that Cruise is seeking a bigger salary, more in line with his earnings on Universal's upcoming reboot of The Mummy, which the studio is resisting.

Either way, while M:I6 will almost certainly still happen, the hold up illustrates the financially disappointing year that many studios, in particular Paramount, are experiencing.

According to the New York Times, the studio is on course to lose $350 million in 2016, following the failure of such films as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Zoolander 2, and this week's historical flop Ben Hur. Even the relatively successful Star Trek Beyond saw a drop in box office earnings compared to its predecessors.

Rogue Nation made $682 million at the worldwide box office in 2015, 71 percent of which was earned overseas.