Tom Cruise Ditches Paramount for Warner — What It All Means | Analysis

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While a big win for WBD, for Paramount it means the loss of its most bankable star when the studio is ripe for acquisition

Sharon Waxman
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Tom Cruise, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Paramount non-executive chair Shari Redstone (TheWrap/Chris Smith)

Tom Cruise made a decision on Tuesday that was more death-defying than hanging onto the side of an airplane or riding his motorcycle into a ravine: To decamp from his home of 31 years, Paramount, for Warner Bros. 

The move sent Hollywood reeling.  The mega-star has been associated with Paramount since 1992, when his production company Cruise/Wagner made a production deal that led to the first “Mission: Impossible” movie release in 1996. Though the formal deal is long ended, Cruise’s decision was enough to send shockwaves through the industry. 

What are the implications for valuable movie franchises like “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun”? What Warner franchises might interest the still-popular action star? And how will it impact Paramount’s merger discussions with Warner Bros Discovery?

The move could mean the loss of Hollywood’s single most bankable movie star at a studio that’s on the bubble for acquisition.

Sharon Waxman

Sharon Waxman

Sharon Waxman, is the founder, CEO and Editor in Chief of TheWrap. She is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, and was a Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times. Twitter: @sharonwaxman

Umberto Gonzalez

Umberto has been covering the fanboy beat & breaking scoops for 20 years with numerous Hollywood trade, newspaper, & magazine mentions to his credit. Umberto has been profiled in such publications as The Washington Post, Variety and Grantland.

Comments

One response to “Tom Cruise Ditches Paramount for Warner — What It All Means | Analysis”

  1. cadavra Avatar
    cadavra

    Overlooking the fact that Cruise is getting too old to continue M:I in its present form–even Jackie Chan knew when it was time to dial it down–it’s my understanding that the deal with Warners is NOT exclusive and he will continue to work with Paramount and other studios (doesn’t he have a film set up at Universal as well?). This seems like a minor story blown all out of proportion.

    Reply

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