Top Gun's Tom Cruise Set to Save Hollywood AGAIN This Weekend
Many believe Tom Cruise’s 2022 hit “Top Gun: Maverick” may have very well saved the movie industry.
Now, at a time when the industry is yet again reaching a low point, the 61-year-old action star might just save the industry all over again.
Cruise’s new film, “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” which hits theaters this weekend, is predicted to smash the series’ box office record by netting a massive $250 million 5-day worldwide total, according to Deadline.
Last year, “Top Gun: Maverick” posted a similar five-day worldwide total, $256.4 million, before eventually reaching a monumental $1.49 billion by the end of its run.
Given the film’s reportedly broad appeal and franchise-best reviews (it currently boasts a 98 percent Rotten Tomatoes score), Deadline predicts the Cruise-led flick will have long legs after its hot start. Such success wouldn’t be new for the series; the last installment, 2018’s “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” garnered 73 percent of its total U.S. box office after its opening weekend.
A summer box office hit would be massive for the movie industry, especially given Hollywood’s recent struggles.
So far, 2023 has been filled with massive box office disappointments, including Warner Bros.”The Flash,” Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.”
“The Flash” is expected to lose over $100 million, and “Indian Jones” will be lucky if it even breaks even according to Collider. In a similar fashion, reports indicate “The Little Mermaid” was a record flop for Disney.
As the film industry heads into 2023’s back half, summer releases will be depended upon to pick up the slack.
“More movies on the slate have boosted the year-to-date bottom line, while some underperforming summer films have placed intense pressure on the releases awaiting their turn at the multiplex to deliver on the promise of their pedigree and marketing,” senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told CNBC.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, one top executive described the upcoming summer season as a “stress test,” as studios hope to entice movie lovers back to theaters in a post-pandemic world where many now prefer streaming services.
Hollywood was facing similar woes in 2022 as it tried to recover from pandemic restrictions. Then came “Maverick” which, according to acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, likely saved both the film and theatrical industries.
Spielberg was filmed telling Cruise as much during an Academy luncheon in February, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Warning: This video contains language some readers may find offensive.
Steven Spielberg tells Tom Cruise that “you saved Hollywood’s ass and you might have saved theatrical distribution. Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry.” pic.twitter.com/nPWR5BqiUV
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 14, 2023
“You saved Hollywood’s a** and you might have saved theatrical distribution,” Spielberg said. “Seriously, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
With theater chains and movie studios continuing to struggle, the industry may very well be saved by a Cruise-led blockbuster yet again.
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