Tom Cruise - Mission: Impossible 4 Breaks Franchise Record

'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' has now made $571 million at the box office, making it the most successful film in the action series.

'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' is the most successful film in the movie series' franchise.

The Brad Bird-directed film - which sees Tom Cruise return as operative Ethan Hunt, alongside Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg - has made $571 million worldwide since its release late last year, and studio Paramount has admitted it is delighted with the success.

Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount, said: "Brad Bird, Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams and the entire team who worked on 'M:I4' created an incredibly entertaining film, one that fans worldwide embraced in record numbers."

'Mission: Impossible II' is the next most successful film in the franchise, earning $546 million worldwide.

Brad has previously joked he was terrified about being the director who killed off Tom when he made him hang off the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai for the fourth instalment of the movie.

He said: "I think every director that has worked with him in these kinds of films probably has that feeling where your eyes snap open at three in the morning and you go, 'My god, what am I doing?' Definitely."