But this is not the first time Cruise has suffered failure. Here are some of his biggest busts and misfires – including some whose fortunes later changed.
1) Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Unfortunately for Cruise, this epic blockbuster needed its own kind of time travel to combat the struggle it had when it hit cinemas. With a massive budget of $178 million, Cruise and director Doug Liman needed the picture to make a big splash upon its release in America. Unfortunately, Edge of Tomorrow staggered its way through the box office, earning just over $100 million throughout the course of its domestic run. And this was all despite mostly being loved by critics.
This quick change seemed to do the job for Cruise and co, giving the movie a more original title that set itself apart from the crowd. The confusingly titled movie ranked number one in home media sales upon its release, with a further $28 million earned in the USA alone.
Since then, both Cruise and Blunt have expressed interest in bringing the time-bending world of Edge of Tomorrow / Live Die Repeat back with a sequel, with the latest whispers surfacing as recently as 2024.
2) Legend (1985)
View oEmbed on the source websiteIt all fell apart when production began, though. After some difficulty finding someone who would write the script, the film was halted when a fire broke out on set at Pinewood Studios on Wednesday, June 27, 1984, with damages racking up to around $700,000. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Cruise didn’t enjoy the experience of making the film, either. He later told Rolling Stone that he 'never wanted to do another movie like that again', claiming his performance was just "another colour in a Ridley Scott painting".
Famously, internet myths suggested Legend somehow inspired Nintendo video game developer Shigeru Miyamoto to create the best-selling franchise The Legend of Zelda. However, considering the NES game hit shelves mere months after the film’s release, this has been well and truly debunked.
Meanwhile, Legend did absolutely spawn another widely-adored franchise. While working with Ridley Scott, Cruise met the director’s brother, Tony. The following year, they worked together to bring Top Gun to life.
3) Days of Thunder (1990)
Based on an idea Cruise had after going for dinner with some NASCAR racers, he took on the role of hot-shot driver Cole Trickle. In the movie, he attempted to adapt a very similar story to his previous airborne venture - but it was not received well at all. Days of Thunder was slated by critics, still maintaining a dismal 38 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.
All of this was in addition to the great expectations pinned on Cruise just after Top Gun’s monolithic success. At the time, Days of Thunder begged the question of whether Cruise’s major win was a legitimate success, or perhaps a mere flash in the pan.
Still, none of this has stopped Cruise from resuscitating the movie’s legacy. As recently as August of this year, he confirmed a Days of Thunder sequel is in the works with Anne Hathaway joining as "a racecar team owner and engineer". Long Shot director, Jonathan Levine, is due to helm the picture, with Cruise and his long-time partner Bruckheimer acting as executive producers once again.
4) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Unfortunately, Cruise could not score.
On top of that, director Christopher McQuarrie was blasted by Polish nationals for arranging to blow up an old decommissioned railway bridge in the country. The local government noted that the structure was already in a state of disrepair, and needed to be removed to "open up the area to tourism". McQuarrie himself released a statement through Empire about the events, noting that the bridge was not a registered monument, and only a portion of the already damaged bridge would be destroyed. Eventually, the bridge was deemed a monument, and the scene McQuarrie and Cruise were trying to film was later moved to North Yorkshire.
Despite it all, Cruise didn’t waver. He followed up with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning two years later (2025), and he went bigger and better than ever. The last entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise earned a staggering $598 million at the box office, over a $350 million budget.
5) Knight and Day (2010)
And, in many ways, this was a film built to succeed; the story was more-or-less based on similarly successful pictures from the early 2000s, such as Mr & Mrs Smith. However, this script in particular seemed to have some problems attached to it. Throughout the 2000s, the script (under the original working title Wichita) had already seen some other big names (albeit smaller than Cruise) decline the leading role, including Adam Sandler and Chris Tucker.
And while the film’s buzz was middling at best, Cruise and Diaz went on a worldwide press tour, making appearances on morning TV shows and radio stations around the globe. Brits might even recall the pair appearing on Top Gear to race against The Stig’s best time back in 2010.
But, after all was said and done, and Knight and Day was deemed a total failure by its production company Fox, Cruise somehow remained untouchable. Even to the point where Fox executive, Tony Sella, told the LA Times that the Mission: Impossible star had no part in the picture’s issues. "Blame me," he said. "Don’t blame Tom Cruise. We did lots of focus groups for this film, and no one ever said there was a star problem. Never. Tom Cruise was not the issue."
The 64-year-old will no doubt be making films until he physically cannot anymore. He might be the final film star of all time. While he’s earned a few box office busts, with Digger being more Legend than Mission: Impossible - Fallout, we can’t deny he always brings his all, as he does with every movie he brings to screens.
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