WITH the mammoth success of his last theatrical release Top Gun: Maverick, global star Tom Cruise is ready to explode the box office yet again on July 12 with one of the world cinema’s most successful film franchises ever, Mission Impossible. The film is the penultimate installment in the action-thriller franchise and marks the actor’s return as field agent Ethan Hunt.
In a career spanning over four decades, Tom Cruise has successfully established himself as a bankable actor in addition to the mega movie star he is today. The actor has his aim high and wants to achieve the “billion-dollar milestone” with MI7: Dead Reckoning Part One.
A Man Of Few Flops
Ever since Tom Cruise shot to superstardom in Top Gun (1986), the actor never really delivered any out-and-out flops. He has basically been on a roll at the box office since the early 90’s including films Rain Man and Born on the Fourth of July. Even Days of Thunder (1990), which was considered not to be a profitable film, was made on a budget of $60 million and went on to collect $138 million worldwide.
“I make movies for audiences. I work so hard and when you see how excited they are and how much they appreciate it, it’s just beautiful.”
-TOM CRUISE TO ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
In the past decade, the action superstar has featured in a total of 8 films, out of which only 2 have been dubbed as commercial failures (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and The Mummy). With this, the actor’s success ratio stands at 75% in 10 years and has a box-office collection of over $4.33 billion, out of which $3.5 billion have come out of the MI films.
Mission Impossible 7 will be Tom Cruise’s entry into the $5 billion-club in Hollywood along with the likes of Hollywood veterans Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Hanks.
Rise To Superstardom
In the period between 1992-2005, Tom Cruise rose to super stardom at the box office, with his films emerging as hits, superhits and blockbusters. His films were made on an average budget of $50-70 million but went on to collect over $100 million.
Here are a few from the long list:
A Few Good Men (Budget: $240m; B.O.: $243m)
Interview With The Vampire (Budget: $60m; B.O.: $223m)
Mission: Impossible (Budget: $80m; B.O.: $457m)
Jerry Maguire (Budget: $50m; B.O.: $273m)
Vanilla Sky (Budget: $68m, B.O.: $203m)
With the mega success of his movies, filmmakers began trusting him with films with a budget of over $100 million. Filmmaker John Woo gave Tom his first ever $100m+ budget with Mission Impossible II in 2000. Set on a budget of $125 million, the film went on to collect $546m at the global box office.
King Of The $100 Million Club
While Tom Cruise had only one film entering the billion-dollar club at the box office (Top Gun: Maverick), the actor has over 30 movies that made over $100 million worldwide. Mission Impossible, Jack Reacher and Top Gun are the only movie franchises in the coveted club, while all other films are either originals or adaptations.
Tom Cruise’s mega star power along with his longevity at the theaters is why it is highly unlikely that any other actor in Hollywood can even come close to this record. The actor also holds a Guinness World Record for delivering 8 consecutive $100 million movies at the worldwide box office.
This feat was achieved during Tom’s golden period between 2012-2018 and includes films Jack Reacher, Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, The Mummy, American Made and Mission: Impossible – Fallout. His last release Top Gun: Maverick went on to collect $1.496 billion at the global box office.
Hollywood’s Highest Earning Actor
According to Variety, Tom Cruise is also the highest paid actor in Hollywood and thanks to Top Gun: Maverick, he also became the most successful film star in the world. The actor took home over $100 million from the film’s profits.
Tom will reportedly be paid less for the upcoming two films in the Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning saga, but will earn a percentage of the movies’ gross profits.
‘I would never bet against Tom Cruise. Most actors aren’t worth what you pay them, but Cruise and maybe Dwayne Johnson justify their salaries.”
A MOVIE EXECUTIVE TO VARIETY
Another Blockbuster On The Way With MI7
If the Rotten tomatoes rating and early reviews are to go by, MI7 will prove to be yet another blockbuster boon for Tom. Often referred to as “the last true movie star,” the actor has so far made a career of over $11 billion worldwide and will continue to achieve the mega success with the Mission Impossible films in the pipeline.
Tom Cruise’s next two films include: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will be released on July 12, 2023 while Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two will release on June 28, 2024.
