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.

Tom CruiseTom Cruise is on a box-office role at the moment, and Mission Impossible 5 should continue the run

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 Revenant 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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