Paramount Moves 'Mission Impossible 5' To Battle 'Terminator' In Summer

Paramount has moved the release date of what is likely to be its biggest grossing movie of the year - Mission Impossible 5 - from Christmas Day to the July 31. At the same time, the studio moved its animated film Monster Trucks to the now vacant festive date.

In its new slot, Mission Impossible 5 will open against the Point Break remake with Luke Bracey and Edgar Ramirez and Antoine Fuqua's boxing movie Southpaw, with Jake Gyllenhaal. However, Mission Impossible's biggest threat could be a release that arrives the following week - Terminator Genisys. Paramount executives wouldn't be enthralled with the idea of surrendering the inevitable box-office top spot after just one week, though it would be devastating for Warner Bros if its action movie is unable to unseat a movie in its second week.

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Still, Monster Trucks now clearly has the most challenging task ahead. It will be looking to encourage Christmas cinemagoers who also have the choice of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the Jennifer Lawrence-starrer Joy. Additionally, the Leonardo DiCaprio adventure flick _The Revenan_t is also released around that period, as is the family animated flick Alvin and the Chipmunks 4.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was a monster hit for Paramount in 2011, taking $700 million at the global box-office and over $200 million domestically. The Tom Cruise franchise is responsible for bringing in for over $2 billion in grosses since 1996 and all have been relatively acclaimed by critics.

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Mission Impossible 5 is directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) and stars Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, and Rebecca Ferguson. The screenplay was reportedly co-written by Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3) and Will Staples (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), though there is nothing official on it.

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