'Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol' is the highest-grossing film of Tom Cruise's career

When Paramount was working on "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" there were questions about whether Tom Cruise was still a draw at the domestic box office, particularly after his previous film, "Knight & Day" only made $76 million in US ticket sales.

Now, the latest "Mission: Impossible" movie is the highest-grossing film of Cruise's career, pulling in $600 million worldwide, with more than $200 million of that total coming from the domestic box office. The $145-million film surpasses Cruise's previous highest-earning title, "War of the Worlds," which only pulled in $591.7 million.

Sumner Redstone famously kicked Cruise off the Paramount lot following the third film, when execs reportedly thought his couch-jumping, pro-Scientology talk show interviews hurt the film. The two made amends in 2008, and Cruise is now working on yet another Paramount film: "One Shot."

Another person who benefits from the success of "Ghost Protocol" is Larry Ellison's son David, the founder of the film's co-financier Skydance Productions, which is helping Paramount fund several upcoming films. "Ghost Protocol" is the second straight hit for Skydance, which also helped finance "True Grit."

There are already talks of a fifth "Mission: Impossible" movie and Cruise hits theaters again this summer in "Rock of Ages" for Warner Bros.