tom cruise first movies in order

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Tom Cruise Before He Was Famous: His First 5 Films

Jessica kiang.

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From tiny, acne-ridden, squeaky-voiced acorns, massive oaks of megastardom can grow. Not literally, of course, in Tom Cruise ‘s case (obligatory height reference), but in every figurative way possible, he is an enormous presence in Hollywood, as a producer, as a celebrity and most importantly as a greenlight-giving, budget-busting, bona fide movie star. For better or worse, we’ve few enough left of those. For anyone who grew up watching movies any time in the eighties, nineties or even noughties, Tom Cruise is simply a fact of life: an immovable object; a mathematical constant like Pi, that we’ll never quite get to the end of defining. His movies succeed, his movies fail (all judged on the warped power-of-n matrix of the tentpole), but Tom Cruise TM endures, and will be jumping out of a building on a movie screen near you very soon, if he isn’t doing just that, right now.

But the ubiquity of his brand has its downside. Familiarity can breed contempt, and in between films, the rumor mill that surrounds Cruise — his family life, his Scientology, his dating practices, the fact that there was a guy wheeling a heater along the red carpet behind him at a recent Dublin premiere — gets on our nerves as much as anybody’s. But a funny thing happens: as much as we may be irritated by Cruise’s persona outside his films, between that Cruise/Wagner logo flashing up and the end credits rolling, for maybe just that 120 minutes, he almost always manages to remind us once again just why he’s the biggest star in the world. Almost always.

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A little in contrast to our fairly positive review , for this writer’s money, this weekend’s “ Oblivion ” is not the best showcase of Cruise’s tentpole talents (we’re excluding things like his highly atypical but totally brilliant turn in “ Magnolia ” for the purposes of this conversation). Even in poor films like “ Knight and Day ” we’ve found ourselves liking and rooting for the Cruise character because as self-serious and self-absorbed as he may seem to be in real life, Cruise can deliver charm onscreen like no one else. And aside from being a star, he’s actually a good actor , so if he’s given a character who’s a gruff, sarcastic but noble loner (“ Jack Reacher “) or a serious but dedicated master-of-disguise superspy (“ Mission: Impossible “), and a director engaged enough, that’s exactly what you get. But in “Oblivion” he’s given very little character, and what quirks he’s allowed fall rather flat under Kosinski’s direction (it’s not so much that he has a directorial tin ear for these things as he seems simply uninterested — he’s more likely off with the production designer arguing over which white swatch is whiter).

Which is all our long way of saying that, noticing how “Oblivion” didn’t work that Cruise juju on us, we started to think about the films that did, and about where it all started. So to mark the release of this $120 million sci-fi spectacular (that would never have gone ahead were it not for the star’s heft behind it), here’s our rundown of the paltry five films that Tom Cruise, seemingly destined like a rocket for the stars, made when he was a nobody.

“ Endless Love ” (1981) Cruise has one scene in this mindblowingly mawkish, and actually super skeezy teen melodrama from Franco Zeffirelli , and it’s notable for him already being shirtless (and otherwise only wearing sports shorts) and for his speaking, or should we say squeaking, voice. Complete with goofy high-pitched giggle, it is a voice that, while recognizably his, you can literally never imagine delivering “I want the TRUTH!” or “I feel the need…” or “You’ve never seen me very upset,” let alone “Respect the cock. Tame the cunt” for anything but comic effect. Over the course of his next movies, he’s clearly training his voice  never to do this again and he totally retires that snicker, so we’re glad this scene still exists, if only to provide hope for awkward adolescents everywhere. The film, oy vey, stars an unbelievably gorgeous, angel-faced Brooke Shields (her first role after “ Blue Lagoon ” which seriously rewired the prepubescent hormones of an entire generation) and Martin Hewitt (nope, no idea) as a sexually active 15- and 17-year old couple who are just super duper in love. So much so that when nooky is suspended due to parental interference he just can’t take it and resolves to impress his way back into her bed by saving the family home from a fire that he himself has set. This is an idea he gets from a story told by the Tom Cruise character, incidentally. This foolproof plan goes wrong and he goes to prison for arson. When he gets out he is still super duper in love with Shields, but unfortunately kind of a little bit sorta also causes the death of her father and gets sent down again. News was it was going to be remade with Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde . Yay. 

“ Taps ” (1981) The same year as his “ Endless Love ” cameo, Cruise got a much more substantial role, and the first of many, many uniforms, in “ Taps ,” a Harold Becker movie (“ Sea of Love ,” “ Malice “) that’s stood the test of time quite well. It makes a great study of the randomness of nascent stardom too, as Cruise is actually the second or third lead to equally early-days Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn , with Giancarlo Esposito in support. The story is rather ploddingly told, but it’s a compelling tale of young men being taught militaristic ideals without having the wisdom to apply them properly, with tragic consequences. When their Academy is threatened with closure, and their Commanding Officer ( George C Scott ) hospital-bound after a shooting accident brings on a heart attack, the cadets, led by their newly-promoted Cadet Major (Hutton) decide to resist the authorities trying to shut them down, eventually taking up arms. Cruise’s character is the hothead, while Penn’s is the more thoughtful, but the film is really Hutton’s, and watching it, then crawling under a rock for 30 years, you’d be sure that he would be the one with the bigger career right now. But if Hutton is subtle, delivering a very mature portrayal of misplaced honor and thwarted loyalty, Cruise is impressive even if his character is more one-note. And he does get to go briefly berserk at the climax, reminding us of those performances of his later career in which bloodlust or outright insanity lurk just below the surface. It’s a “ Lord of the Flies “-style allegory, so it’s not exactly believable, and it takes too long to get where it’s going, but in “Taps,” we get the first glimpse of the Cruise of the future. And it’s only his second film.

“ The Outsiders ” (1983) If “ Taps ” gave Cruise a taste of what it would be like to be part of a generation of upcoming actors, he hit the motherload by getting cast in Francis Ford Coppola ‘s “ The Outsiders ,” alongside Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Diane Lane . Based on S.E. Hinton ‘s novel of the same name, the film is certainly beautiful to look at, and wants to be epic in scope and sweep, but somehow the story doesn’t quite have the grand heft and thematic resonance it really needs. But does it really matter when the cast is this pretty? Again, Cruise takes a less central role than those actors he would soon and forever eclipse in terms of star power, but it is notable from his point of view, because here, despite some spitty, snarly play-acting, greasy hair and snaggly teeth, we discern for the first time Cruise’s heartthrob potential, even in amongst so many heartthrobs. They play a gang of underprivileged kids who are involved in a rivalry with a wealthier gang that spirals out of control when one of the richer kids is killed in a brawl, and as such this also marks a rare time that Cruise would play a true outcast, a reject (as opposed to a principled loner) — future roles may have given him a blue-collar background, but defining Cruise characters are almost always successful in adapting to, and ultimately winning within whatever social circle they aspire to. But while Cruise may be overshadowed in terms of screen time and performance this time out by the likes of Macchio and Howell, especially, according to Lowe, already back then, he was displaying the “traits that would make him famous. He’s zeroed in like a laser.” Lowe also recounts how even this early on, his agent and future production partner Paula Wagner was a hugely important figure in Cruise’s life. Retrospectively it’s tempting to ascribe a good deal of the efficient upward trajectory of his early career to her guiding intelligence — sheer luck and raw talent can’t wholly account for zero-to-hero in just five films, after all.

“ Losin’ It ” (1983) But if with ‘ Outsiders ‘ and “ Taps ” Cruise might have been in danger of being pigeonholed into the “volatile friend” supporting role, his next two films would be in one of the defining genres of the era — the teen sex comedy — and would put paid to any such notions. “ Risky Business ” would of course be his breakout, before “ Top Gun ” three years later would rocket, or fighter jet him to superstardom, but prior to that came “ Losin’ It ,” the justly overlooked “one crazy night”-style story of a bunch of high school kids heading to Tijuana for an evening of debauchery. No prizes for guessing what the “it” is that these boys are hoping to lose. Really, in tracing the evolution of Cruise into the star we know today, “Losin It” is most notable for being the first time he really had the lead role, even if that doesn’t clearly emerge until a little later in the film. So of the three friends who go on the trip, Dave ( Jackie Earle Haley — apparently born looking about 35) is the wildcard motormouth who can’t keep it in his pants, Spider ( John Stockwell ) is the goodlooking jock who gets into fights and tries to bribe policemen while Woody (Cruise) is the sweet, slightly nebbish friend who chickens out of losing his virginity to a prostitute and is instead deflowered in a much more romantic manner by the young housewife ( Shelley Long ) to whom they gave a lift to TJ for a quickie divorce. So it’s a romantic lead of sorts, inasmuch as this sort of film ever provided one of those, but it’s Haley’s wired, twitchy, OTT performance that steals what little there is to take here. A sort of interesting moment happens at the end when Long’s husband reappears, but it’s way too little too late in what is otherwise a tiresome palaver of a film, featuring a neat line in casual racism and a pretty revolting sexist streak that may have been par for the course at the time, but dates the film badly now. The real surprise here is that Curtis Hanson is the director. So it’s not only an early low point for Cruise, then.

“ Risky Business ” (1983) And so we come to the end of our journey, with a little film you may have heard of: “ Risky Business ” — only the third of four films that Cruise would release in 1983 (the last being “ All The Right Moves “). The story of a privileged, Princeton-bound teen who gets into trouble while his parents are away and, with the help of the call girl he falls for ( Rebecca de Mornay ) hits on the wizard scheme of running a one-night brothel to pay off his various debts, on paper it’s not the most promising of star-making vehicles. But Cruise really goes for it, and somewhere around the time he slides into the living room sporting nothing but socks, a pink shirt and a candlestick/microphone, it appears the world woke up to Tom Cruise TM. It helps that the film, though it roughly shares a genre with the same year’s vastly inferior “ Losin’ It ,” is an altogether sharper, tighter, better-written affair (writer/director Paul Brickman seldom gets enough props for that), so that it comes across more as satire than slapstick, spicing it’s caper-ish antics with some fairly pointed commentary. And Cruise is really very good in it, navigating the trickier aspects of his character’s moral ambivalence with ease, and turning in a confident performance that would set up the cocksure but charming persona he would default to time and again in the coming years, most notably with “ Top Gun .” In fact, it’s the first evidence we really have of the central conundrum of Cruise’s star image: in anyone else, that air of smugness — the expectation that the world will give him what he wants because it owes him — would be totally off-putting. But maybe Cruise’s greatest talent is knowing just when to pull back from the brink of all-out arrogance and show us something real, or goofy, or awkward underneath the bravado. It’s those moments, which catch the light like the flaws in a diamond, that stop us from despising his character here and in future incarnations. And that’s maybe as close as we’re going to get to explaining his long-lasting appeal: Cruise can behave like an asshole, he can win the way assholes win, but he gives us just bare-minimum-enough of a glimpse inside to let us believe he’s not, in fact, an asshole. Cue Moms wanting to rescue him; cue teenage girls sighing over the tenderness they spy within; cue teenage boys furiously taking notes. Cue stardom .

The rest is, of course, movie history. Next up, in 2014, Cruise will be jumping out of buildings in 3D in service of yet another sci-fi epic in Doug Liman ‘s “ All You Need Is Kill ,” which sounds kinda like “ Groundhog Day ” with warring aliens ( proper synopsis here ), potentially to be followed by Rupert Sanders ‘ “ Van Helsing ,” and/or Guy Ritchie ‘s “ The Man From UNCLE ” before the probably Christopher McQuarrie -directed “ Mission Impossible 5 “ arrives in 2015. Nope, Cruise ain’t going nowhere. Except maybe out the window of that skyscraper one more time.

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Home > Tom Cruise First Movies In Order

Tom Cruise First Movies In Order

• UPDATED: December 1, 2023

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Tom Cruise: A Journey Through His First Movies

Tom Cruise, a name that has become synonymous with Hollywood stardom, had humble beginnings in the world of acting. Before he became the international sensation we know today, Cruise started his career with small roles in various films. Let’s take a journey through his first movies in chronological order and see how this talented actor’s career began.

1. “Endless Love” (1981): Cruise made his film debut with a minor role in this romantic drama. Although his screen time was limited, it was clear that he had a natural presence and charisma that would later propel him to stardom.

2. “Taps” (1981): In this military drama, Cruise played one of the supporting characters alongside established actors like Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton. Despite being a relatively small role, his performance showcased his ability to hold his own among experienced actors.

3. “The Outsiders” (1983): Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, this coming-of-age drama featured an ensemble cast of young actors who would go on to become big names in Hollywood. Cruise portrayed Steve Randle, a member of a group of greasers. His performance demonstrated his versatility as an actor and further solidified his place in the industry.

4. “Risky Business” (1983): This comedy-drama marked Cruise’s breakthrough role as Joel Goodson, a high school student who turns his parents’ house into a brothel while they are away. The film’s iconic scene of Cruise dancing in his underwear became an instant pop culture phenomenon and catapulted him into the spotlight.

5. “All the Right Moves” (1983): Continuing his streak of successful films in 1983, Cruise starred as Stefan Djordjevic, a talented high school football player aiming for a college scholarship. This sports drama showcased Cruise’s ability to portray intense emotions and further established him as a rising star.

6. “Legend” (1985): In this fantasy film directed by Ridley Scott, Cruise played the lead role of Jack, a young forest dweller who must rescue his love interest from the Lord of Darkness. Although the film received mixed reviews, Cruise’s performance demonstrated his willingness to take on diverse roles and work with acclaimed directors.

7. “Top Gun” (1986): Arguably one of Cruise’s most iconic movies, “Top Gun” solidified his status as a Hollywood superstar. Playing the role of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a talented naval aviator, Cruise showcased his charm and charisma while also performing daring aerial stunts. The film became a massive commercial success and further cemented Cruise’s place in Hollywood history.

These early films in Tom Cruise’s career laid the foundation for his future success. From minor roles to breakout performances, each movie showcased his talent and versatility as an actor. Cruise’s dedication to his craft and willingness to take on challenging roles have undoubtedly contributed to his longevity in the industry.

As we look back at these first movies in chronological order, it is evident that Tom Cruise’s journey from humble beginnings to international stardom was marked by hard work, determination, and undeniable talent.

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All Tom Cruise movies, in order

It’s difficult to pinpoint what Tom Cruise really means to the history of blockbuster cinema, not just for his astounding body of work, but also for the range he puts on display, whether it be historical epics, action blockbusters, or even sci-fi spectacles.

With four Academy Award nominations, a career spanning five decades, and movies grossing over $11.5 billion worldwide, Tom Cruise is a titan of Hollywood and all it stands for . In fact, one could go so far as to suggest that as far as movie stars go, they don’t make them like this anymore. Cruise has the charisma and looks that would make any actor a commercial darling, but his acting chops and infamously crazy stunts also make him stand out.

The legendary thespian can be an action hero in a Mission: Impossible movie and then follow it up with a heart-wrenching performance like Born on the Fourth of July . He can be the lovable Jerry Maguire and then be as chilling as Vincent is in 2004’s Collateral . You name the role, and the chameleon that he is, Tom Cruise will be there to give his 100% and make it work.

But how many movies has he been in, and how many of them have you seen? Let’s take a look at Tom Cruise’s filmography to get a better understanding of his enviable career.

All the movies Tom Cruise has starred in, broken up by decade

The beloved Hollywood icon began his work with Endless Love and Taps , both released in 1981, but his most significant role from that era undoubtedly goes to Maverick in Top Gun .

• Endless Love (1981)
• Taps (1981)
• The Outsiders (1983)
• Losin’ It (1983)
• Risky Business (1983)
• All the Right Moves (1983)
• Legend (1985)
• Top Gun (1986)
• The Color of Money (1986)
• Cocktail (1986)
• Rain Man (1988)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Now a genuine movie star, Tom Cruise had his pick of projects, which led to possibly the best decade of his career and the main reason he is now a household name all over the world. Outstanding performances from A Few Good Men , Jerry Maguire , and Eyes Wide Shut alongside the start of his Mission: Impossible saga make the Tom Cruise movies from the 1990s the most enjoyable ones to watch.

• Days of Thunder (1990)
• Far and Away (1992)
• A Few Good Men (1992)
• The Firm (1993)
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Jerry Maguire (1996)
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
• Magnolia (1999)

Tom Cruise continued his 90s success into the 2000s with the critically acclaimed Vanilla Sky , the blockbuster sci-fi hit Minority Report, and the brilliant historical epic The Last Samurai .

• Mission: Impossible II (2000)
• Vanilla Sky (2001)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• The Last Samurai (2003)
• Collateral (2004)
• War of the Worlds (2005)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Lions for Lambs (2007)
• Tropic Thunder (2008)
• Valkyrie (2008)

As Hollywood moved away from the idea of a global movie star and into the age of franchises like Marvel, actors like Tom Cruise became a rare commodity in the industry. Cruise still had the pull to rope in audiences, which he combined with his vast experience in producing, turning Mission: Impossible into a top-tier action franchise once again. He also starred in the now-cult classic Edge of Tomorrow . Duds like 2017’s The Mummy and two Jack Reacher movies were inevitable, of course, but he still ended the decade on a high note.

• Knight and Day (2010)
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Rock of Ages (2012)
• Jack Reacher (2012)
• Oblivion (2013)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
• Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
• The Mummy (2017)
• American Made (2017)
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Well into his fifth decade as a professional actor, Tom Cruise is still going strong. His one-man mission to make a Top Gun sequel was a massive success, grossing nearly $1.5 billion worldwide and garnering a host of new fans, not to mention thawing the industry out of a Covid-induced daze.

These are Tom Cruise’s movies in the ongoing decade so far, discernibly lacking variety as well as multitude:

• Top Gun: Maverick (2021)
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
• Untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film (2025)

That’s going to be it for Tom Cruise’s filmography, but since the star is showing no sign of slowing down, this list is only bound to get longer.

Tom Cruise movies in order

Image: ©Universal Pictures/20th Century

When it comes to the careers of Hollywood stars, they don’t come much bigger than Tom Cruise. The actor, who has appeared in a string of blockbuster movies, from sci-fi epics to explosive action films, is one of the most famous figures in the movie business and has fronted many high-profile, extremely profitable motion pictures.

But how many of Tom Cruise’s movies have you watched? A few? A lot? All of them?!

If you’re not quite sure what Tom Cruise movies you have viewed and what movies you still need to check out, then you will probably benefit from reading through this post.

Below you will find a list of all Tom Cruise’s movies, from his huge hits to his lesser-known films. The list also includes pictures in which Cruise has featured in a small role or even just a cameo.

Want to check out Tom Cruise’s movie portfolio? Then you had best keep on reading, as I go decade by decade through his back catalogue.

Tom Cruise began his movie career at the beginning of the 1980s with roles in the movies Endless Love and Taps , both released in 1981. He then appeared in a string of films in 1983, including well-known pictures, Risky Business and All the Right Moves .

It was at this point that Tom Cruise’s movie career really started to blossom, leading to roles in films such as Legend , Cocktail and Rain Man . One of his most notable and enduring roles was that of Maverick in the 1986 movie, Top Gun .

Here is a list of all Tom Cruise’s movies throughout the 1980s:

• Endless Love (1981)
• Taps (1981)
• The Outsiders (1983)
• Losin’ It (1983)
• Risky Business (1983)
• All the Right Moves (1983)
• Legend (1985)
• Top Gun (1986)
• The Color of Money (1986)
• Cocktail (1986)
• Rain Man (1988)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Moving into the 1990s and Tom Cruise’s career continued to go from strength-to-strength, beginning with the release of Days of Thunder in 1990. Other high-profile movies followed, including Interview with the Vampire , Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia .

It was during this decade that Cruise appeared in three movies alongside his then wife, Nicole Kidman, including the aforementioned Days of Thunder , Far and Away , and Eyes Wide Shut . The ‘90s also provided Cruise with the first entry in the Mission: Impossible film series – a collection of films which would prove to be huge for the actor for the next few decades.

Tom Cruise’s ‘90s films include:

• Days of Thunder (1990)
• Far and Away (1992)
• A Few Good Men (1992)
• The Firm (1993)
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Jerry Maguire (1996)
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
• Magnolia (1999)

Into the 2000s, and Cruise continued to push forward with his career, appearing in critically acclaimed movies Vanilla Sky and Collateral , as well as the popular sci-fi action-blockbuster, War of the Worlds .

Two more entries in the Mission: Impossible followed in the ‘00s, as did a hilarious cameo in the comedy spoof, Austin Powers in Goldmember . The actor also appeared in the comedic Tropic Thunder , then rounded out the decade with the war drama, Valkyrie .

Tom Cruise’s ‘00s movies included:

• Mission: Impossible II (2000)
• Vanilla Sky (2001)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• The Last Samurai (2003)
• Collateral (2004)
• War of the Worlds (2005)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Lions for Lambs (2007)
• Tropic Thunder (2008)
• Valkyrie (2008)

Although many actors would find their careers flagging this far on from their big break, Tom Cruise continued to remain popular with audiences as he moved into the 2010s. From action-adventures such as Knight and Day to the musical Rock of Ages , Cruise appeared in a run of pictures.

During this decade Cruise starred in three further Mission: Impossible movies, and took on the title role for two Jack Reacher films. Other films during this time included Edge of Tomorrow and American Made .

Tom Cruise’s 2010 movies include:

• Knight and Day (2010)
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Rock of Ages (2012)
• Jack Reacher (2012)
• Oblivion (2013)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
• Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
• The Mummy (2017)
• American Made (2017)
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

And finally, moving into the 2020s, Cruise reprises the role of Maverick for the appropriately titled Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick , before appearing in further Mission: Impossible movies.

Tom Cruise’s 2020s movies include:

• Top Gun: Maverick (2021)
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two (2024)

Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about Tom Cruise’s movie portfolio. The actor has had an interesting career and has managed to work with countless high-profile directors, including Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, and Cameron Crowe (amongst others), resulting in a strong run of films!

For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.

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A Brief History of Tom Cruise’s Impressive Filmography

Tom Cruise is such a staple in American cinema that it’s easy to take him for granted. Since the early 1980s, he’s been cranking out hit after hit, becoming one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors and consistently making blockbusters that shatter box office records.

In the past five decades, Cruise’s movies have grossed more than $11.5 billion worldwide. Oh, and he also does all his own stunts! The man himself may be an enigma, but there’s no denying the role he’s played in cinematic history.

In 2022, his return to the Top Gun universe even managed to lure pandemic-wary moviegoers back to theaters. Top Gun: Maverick grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office and became one of the highest-grossing movies in history. As a result, according to Variety , Steven Spielberg told Cruise he “saved Hollywood’s a** and [ … ] might have saved theatrical distribution.”

Cruise began his career like so many others, journeying to New York City to bus tables while trying to become an actor, eventually moving to the West Coast and signing with a talent agency. He got attention on sets right away, landing small roles in both Endless Love and Taps in 1981. The Hollywood Reporter states that Cruise’s role in Taps was expanded after director Harold Becker noticed the actor was “out-marching the other cadets on the parade field,” which totally fits everything we know about Cruise now!

All of Tom Cruise’s films, in order

Below is a list of all of the movies Cruise has made since he first boarded that Greyhound to NYC back in the early ’80s. Our favorites are in bold.

– Endless Love (1981)

– Taps (1981)

The Outsiders  (1983)

Welcome to the Brat Pack! Cruise’s first big break came when he was selected to join the ensemble of The Outsiders , directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Cruise joined fellow young rising stars C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, and Diane Lane, yet he still managed to stand out on screen.

– Losin’ It (1983)

– Risky Business (1983)

This movie was transformative and really put Cruise on the map as a leading man. Who could forget the shirt-no-pants dance scene? Or the train scene with Rebecca De Mornay? Is it hot in here?

– All The Right Moves (1983)

– Legend (1985)

Tim Curry! A very young Mia Sara! David Bowie in a cod piece! This movie has it all.

Top Gun  (1986)

You might have an inkling of how huge this movie was when it came out, but you’re probably underestimating it. Seriously, it was massive ! Money-wise, it grossed $357 million globally and was the highest-grossing domestic film of the year. Anecdotally, everyone was buying Ray-Bans and bomber jackets and rewinding that love scene with Kelly McGinnis until we wore out the VHS tape.

– The Color of Money (1986)

Just when we thought he couldn’t get more popular, he made a movie about shooting pool with Hollywood legend Paul Newman.

– Cocktail (1986)

– Rain Man (1988)

Born on the Fourth of July  (1989)

Cruise won a Best Actor Golden Globe for his portrayal of Ron Kovic, a Vietnam veteran who co-wrote the biographical screenplay with director Oliver Stone. Cruise also received the first of four Academy Award nominations. His star was truly rising by now. People magazine named him 1990’s “Sexiest Man Alive.”

– Days of Thunder (1990)

– Far and Away (1992)

– A Few Good Men (1992)

Cruise and Jack Nicholson proved to be a riveting pair to watch on screen. “You can’t handle the truth!”

– The Firm (1993)

– Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Audiences didn’t love him as Lestat, but the film was critically acclaimed nevertheless.

– Mission: Impossible (1996)

The movie that kicked off a billion dollar franchise!

– Jerry Maguire (1996)

“Show me the money!” Cruise received a second Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and a second Academy Award nomination for this romantic comedy, which co-starred Renee Zellweger.

– Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

– Magnolia (1999)

Cruise earned a third Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a motivational speaker, but he missed out on an Academy Award for a third time.

– Mission: Impossible II (2000)

– Vanilla Sky (2001)

– Minority Report (2002)

– Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

– The Last Samurai (2003)

– Collateral (2004)

– War of the Worlds (2005)

– Mission: Impossible III (2006)

– Lions for Lambs (2007)

– Tropic Thunder (2008)

An unrecognizable Cruise plays a ribald studio executive producer who was reportedly modeled after Harvey Weinstein.

– Valkyrie (2008)

– Knight and Day (2010)

– Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2001)

– Rock of Ages (2012)

– Jack Reacher (2012)

– Oblivion (2013)

– Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

– Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

– Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

– The Mummy (2017)

– American Made (2017)

– Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Top Gun: Maverick  (2021)

Maverick is back to fight unnamed U.S. enemies, romance an age-appropriate new love interest (Jennifer Connelly), and oh yeah, save Hollywood! With a cast full of easy-on-the-eyes new fly boys and girls, it’s easy to see why Top Gun: Maverick was such a smash hit .

– Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)

What’s next?

-Untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film (2025)

More Mission: Impossible movies … yay? Oh well, it’s not like we don’t have a ton of other movies in the Tom Cruise catalog to occupy our time. This guy sure has been busy for these past few decades!

(featured image: Paramount Pictures)

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All Tom Cruise Movies in order with Box office Collection

Tom Cruise is one of the most successful and popular actors in Hollywood . He has starred in over 40 films, many of which have been box office successes. Here is a list of all of Tom Cruise movies in order of their release date, along with their box office collection and budget:

Tom Cruise Movies in order: Release Date, Budget and Box Office

Release date.

Endless Love

$12 million

$10 million

$15 million

July 29, 1988

$20 million

$171.5 million

May 18, 1988

$56 million

Dec 12, 1988

$25 million

$354.8 million

Born on the Fourth of July

Dec 20, 1989

$162 million

Days of Thunder

$60 million

$157.9 million

Far and Away

$137.8 million

A Few Good Men

Dec 9, 1992

$40 million

$243.2 million

June 23, 1993

$50 million

Interview with the Vampire

Nov 9, 1994

$223.7 million

Mission: Impossible

May 20, 1996

$80 million

$457.7 million

Jerry Maguire

$273.6 million

Eyes Wide Shut

July 13, 1999

$162.8 million

Dec 8, 1999

$37 million

$48.5 million

Mission: Impossible II

May 24, 2000

$546.4 million

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures

  Feb 17, 2001

Vanilla Sky

Dec 10, 2001

$203.4 million

Space Station 3D

April 17, 2002 

$127.6 million

Minority Report

June 21, 2002

$100 million

$358.4 million

Austin Powers in Goldmembe

July 22, 2002

$63 million

$296.7 million

The Last Samurai

Dec 20, 2003

$140 million

$456.8 million

Aug 6, 2004

$220.9 million

War of the Worlds

June 28, 2005

$135 million

$603.9 million

Mission: Impossible III

May 5, 2006

$150 million

$398.5 million

Lions For Lamb

Nov 9, 2007

$35 million

$63.2 million

Tropic Thunder

Aug 13, 2008

$195.7 million

Dec 25, 2008

$90 million

$201.5 million

Knight and Day

June 16, 2010

$262 million

Dec 16, 2011

$145 million

$694.7 million

Rock of Ages

June 13, 2012

$75 million

$59.4 million

Jack Reacher

  Dec 19, 2012 

$218.3 million

April 19, 2013

$287.9 million

Edge of Tomorrow

June 6, 2014

$178 million

$370.5 million

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

$160 million

$682.7 million

Oct 21, 2016 

$162.1 million

June 9, 2017

$125 million

$410 million

American Made

Aug 25, 2017

$134.9 million

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

July 27, 2018

$791.7 million

Top Gun: Maverick

May 27, 2022

$1.480 billion

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

July 10, 2023

$291 million

$552.4 million

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two

June 28, 2024

Read More About: Akshay Kumar Upcoming Movies

This is the complete list of Tom Cruise movies in order with Box office Collection.

Conclusion:

Tom Cruise filmography is a testament to his enduring talent and remarkable versatility as an actor. From his early days as a promising newcomer to his current status as a Hollywood legend, Cruise has consistently delivered box office successes and critically acclaimed performances. His dedication to his craft and his willingness to take on diverse roles have solidified his place in cinematic history. As fans eagerly await his future projects, one thing

Read More About: Rashmika Mandanna Upcoming Movies

Priya Patel is a person who loves movies a lot. She writes her thoughts about different movies on The Cinema Info website. Many people have fun reading what she writes.

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• What to Watch
• In Memoriam

Tom Cruise is undeniably one of the greatest movie stars in the history of cinema, the type of big screen icon that many say are a dying breed. He can shoulder the weight of blockbuster franchises, deliver riveting performances, and pack movie theaters all around the world. Movies starring Cruise have generated over 10 billion dollars in ticket sales globally over the past four decades. Cruise has also earned three Oscar nominations (Best Actor for Born on the Fourth of July , Best Actor for Jerry Maguire , and Best Supporting Actor for Magnolia ).

Long before he ever ran in a film or said a single line of dialogue in a dramatic scene, Cruise was studying to be a priest. Upon being expelled from seminary school, he set out to pursue a career in acting. (He had already become infatuated with acting in high school after starring in the school's production of Guys and Dolls .) A bit part in the 1981 romantic drama Endless Love led to a scene-stealing supporting role in the drama Taps that same year. Soon, he would cement himself as a leading man. When Cruise slid across the screen and started to lip-sync "Old Time Rock & Roll" by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band in the 1983 comedy-drama Risky Business , a star was born. And there was no looking back.

As proof of Cruise's enduring star power, last summer saw the release of Top Gun: Maverick , his long-awaited follow-up to the Oscar-winning 1986 action drama. The film grossed close to $1.5 billion worldwide and received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won the Oscar for Best Sound.

This summer, Cruise returns to theaters as Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One , in theaters July 12. As we look forward to what's next for him, below, A.frame is revisiting the best of Cruise's filmography.

Cruise had only been in Hollywood for a couple of years when he was cast as Joel, the lead in Risky Business , a teenager cutting loose when his parents are away — who soon gets caught up in various risky escapades. First-time director Paul Brickman auditioned the likes of Kevin Bacon, John Cusack and Tom Hanks for the role, but ultimately chose Cruise.

Considering how seminal a role Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell played in Cruise's career to come, it's inconceivable that the hotshot fighter pilot was nearly played by... Matthew Modine?! Top Gun was an instant box office smash hit, becoming an enduring action classic (hence the sequel 36 years later). Top Gun received four Academy Award nominations and won the Oscar for Best Original Song for "Take My Breath Away."

Two of the most acclaimed dramas in which Cruise has starred were released in successive years: The Best Picture-winning Rain Man in 1988 and then Born on the Fourth of July the following year. In the latter, Cruise portrays paralyzed Vietnam veteran-turned-anti-war activist Ron Kovic. His performance earned him the first Oscar nomination of his career.

His nomination for Best Actor was one of the biographical drama's eight nominations. The film went on to win two Oscars, Best Director for Oliver Stone and Best Film Editing.

"Show me the money!" "Help me help you." "You complete me." Perhaps the most quotable movie Cruise has starred in, Jerry Maguire, a romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Cameron Crowe, sees the actor portraying a sports agent suffering a crisis of conscience. The film earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor for Cruise and Best Picture, and won an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category.

A horror film to some and a beloved Christmas classic to others, the erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut was legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's final film. Cruise plays Dr. Bill Harford, a Manhattan doctor who, following his wife Alice's admission that she almost had an affair, embarks upon a dangerous night-long odyssey featuring a masked adventure amongst an ominous secret society. The film, co-starring Sydney Pollack, Todd Field, Marie Richardson, Vinessa Shaw and Alan Cumming, was the third and final time Cruise and then-wife Nicole Kidman appeared on-screen together, following Days of Thunder (1990) and Far and Away (1992).

By then a bona fide movie star, Cruise took a rare supporting role in Paul Thomas Anderson's third feature film . A sweeping drama about coincidences, regrets, loss, longing, and crime and punishment, Magnolia features interconnected characters on one stormy day in the San Fernando Valley. The film's ensemble cast includes Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards, Philip Baker Hall, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Melora Walters and Jeremy Blackman. Cruise plays motivation speaker Frank T.J. Mackey, a part Anderson wrote specifically for him, and earned his third Oscar nomination (this time in the Best Supporting Actor category).

The early 2000s saw Cruise starring in a string of blockbuster hits with Mission: Impossible II , Vanilla Sky and this dystopian thriller, which is set in a future where the police arrest criminals before their crimes have been committed. Cruise plays a Precrime officer accused of a future murder. Minority Report served as a long-in-the-works collaboration between Cruise and Steven Spielberg, which would continue with 2005's War of the Worlds.

Cruise has built his stardom on playing heroes, but he is certainly more than capable of portraying villains from time to time. In Michael Mann's Collateral , he plays Vincent, a lone-wolf contract killer hired to go on a killing spree during one night in Los Angeles. Jamie Foxx plays Max, the captive cab driver driving him around the city so that he can carry out his hits. The neo-noir action thriller, co-starring Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem, was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Supporting Actor for Foxx and Best Film Editing).

Cruise is no stranger to the high concept action flick, but his crown jewel in the genre is arguably Edge of Tomorrow. Set in a future where aliens have taken over Europe, Cruise's Major Bill Cage finds himself stuck in a time loop with Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) as they attempt to stop the invaders. A much-demanded sequel has been in various stages of development since the sci-fi action film was released in 2014.

Fallout is Cruise's sixth outing as superspy Ethan Hunt — following the original 1996 Mission: Impossible , as well as M:I II , M:I III , Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation. Although each one of the first six films has remarkable sequences to appreciate, Fallout is regarded as one of the franchise's best installments. The film features, among other elements, some of the most insane, death-defying stunts of the franchise, which, of course, the astonishing star performs himself.

• Essential Movies
• Academy Member

How to Watch the 'Mission: Impossible' Movies in Order (Chronologically and by Release Date)

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to watch one of the best action franchises of all time.

The Big Picture

• Tom Cruise has been the face of the Mission: Impossible franchise for 25 years, playing the daring and intelligent Ethan Hunt.
• The franchise has released seven films so far, with Mission: Impossible 8 coming in summer of 2025.
• The movies can be watched in either release date order or chronological order, with each installment building upon the previous ones.

Tom Cruise helped revive a franchise in 1996 when he starred in the first Mission: Impossible film as Ethan Hunt, a member of a fictional spy agency called Impossible Missions Force, or IMF. The first film kicked off a successful movie franchise that's run for 25 years, with the number of Mission: Impossible nearing the double digits. The entire series focuses on the daring and intelligent Hunt, and while playing the same character for more than two decades is no small feat, Cruise makes the impossible look easy. While Cruise has been onboard for all of the Mission: Impossible films — seven so far, with the eighth having stopped filming due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike — the other actor who’s been by his side since day one is Ving Rhames , who plays Luther Stickell, an expert hacker at IMF and Hunt’s most trusted friend. Over the years, many great actors like Jon Voight , Philip Seymour Hoffman , and Angela Bassett have had roles in the franchise, whether as allies or antagonists to Hunt.

Thankfully, for anyone wondering how to watch the Mission: Impossible movies in chronological order or by release date, the action spy franchise isn’t as complicated as Hunt’s “impossible” missions. Here’s a straightforward guide.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on November 5, 2023.

Mission: Impossible

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Mission Impossible Movies In Order of Release Date

Here’s every film in the Mission: Impossible movie franchise, in the order they were released in:

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Mission: impossible 2 (2000), mission: impossible iii (2006).

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Mission Impossible Movies in Chronological Order of Events

The timeline of the Mission: Impossible franchise is pretty straightforward, but if you're wondering when Cruise climbed the Burj Khalifa, how many movies Ilsa Faust has been in, or who's been on Ethan Hunt's IMF team the longest, we've got you covered. Here's a breakdown of how to watch the Mission: Impossible films in chronological order and the important details to remember:

Based on the TV series of the same name that ran from 1966 to 1973, Mission: Impossible , the first film in what is now a multi-billion-dollar-earning franchise, takes the original story and turns it on its head. When a whole team of IMF agents is killed during a mission, Cruise’s Hunt is left as the only survivor. Unfortunately, surviving doesn’t do him much good, as IMF, in turn, suspects Hunt of being a mole in the organization and the one responsible for the killings. In order to prove his innocence, Hunt goes on the run in search of the real mole, intent on stopping them before they do any more damage. Along with Cruise and Rhames, Mission: Impossible also stars Voigt as Jim Phelps, one of the original series’s characters, Vanessa Redgrave as an arms dealer named Max, as well as Kristin Scott Thomas and Emilio Estevez as other major characters. Directed by Brian De Palma , the 1996 film is more of a contained, paranoid spy thriller, and ultimately, the franchise goes above and beyond the first film’s story and action sequences, but Mission: Impossible will always be the one that started it all.

Released four years after the first film, Mission: Impossible 2 , directed by John Woo, features the return of Hunt and the IMF, as Hunt is tasked with finding and disposing of a biochemical weapon called “Chimera.” The villain of this mission is a former IMF agent named Sean Ambrose, played by Dougray Scott . Other new additions to the cast are Thandiwe Newton as Nyah Nordoff-Hall, Ambrose’s ex-girlfriend who helps Hunt accomplish his task, as well as Brendan Gleeson as John C. McCloy, the CEO of Biocyte, the company that creates both the Chimera weapon and its antidote, “Bellerophon.” Ambrose aims to start a pandemic so that he can earn billions of dollars by selling the antidote, and Hunt and Nyah must secure the virus before it’s too late. The second film in the Mission: Impossible franchise ups the ante, with Hunt traveling all the way to Sydney, Australia to chase down Ambrose, and the action sequences are jam-packed in typical Woo fashion .

The third film in the Mission: Impossible franchise took a really long time to be released, with six years between 2000’s Mission: Impossible 2 and 2006’s Mission: Impossible III . The third outing for IMF agent Hunt introduces two more key characters to the story — Michelle Monaghan as Hunt's fiancée, Julia Meade, and Simon Pegg ’s Benji Dunn, an IMF technician and trusted teammate of Hunt’s. In Mission: Impossible III , Hunt attempts to retire from fieldwork and settle down with Julia, but the organization can’t seem to let him go. He is called in to rescue a kidnapped agent and stop an arms dealer named Owen Davian ( Seymour Hoffman ) from receiving a dangerous MacGuffin called the “Rabbit’s Foot.” All the while, Hunt tries to keep the secret of his real job from Julie, but despite his efforts, she gets dragged into danger anyway. Directed by J.J. Abrams , the third Mission: Impossible film also features many other fantastic actors, including Laurence Fishburne , Keri Russell , and Billy Crudup .

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

In the new decade, this is where the action franchise really hits its stride. The first Mission: Impossible film to have a subtitle, 2011’s Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol does not disappoint. After a mission goes terribly wrong, ending with the Kremlin blowing up, the U.S. government disavows IMF in what is known as the “Ghost Protocol,” leaving Hunt and his team alone and without backup. Along with Cruise, Rhames, Pegg, and Monaghan, the fourth Mission: Impossible film also stars Jeremy Renner , Paula Patton , Michael Nyqvist , and Léa Seydoux . While Hunt’s previous missions have involved traitor agents and virus weapons, this particular adventure features Hunt working to prevent a nuclear war. The stakes are higher than ever, and Hunt must overcome both physical and emotional hardships in order to do his job and save the world. The Iron Giant and Incredibles director Brad Bird made his live-action debut with Ghost Protocol , and the film is a major step up from the previous three, escalating the action set-pieces (most notably, Cruise's instantly iconic climb up the Burj Khalifa ) and introducing a more ensemble-driven approach the franchise is still embracing today.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Enter Rebecca Ferguson . Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is the fifth film in the Mission: Impossible series that never seems to stop. Alongside Alec Baldwin , Sean Harris , and Tom Hollander , this movie marks the first appearance of Ferguson's Ilsa Faust , an MI6 agent who encounters Hunt while undercover in the Syndicate crime organization; an international group of spies who went rogue. Ferguson’s character is definitely one of the most complicated of the series so far, and she adds new life and intrigue to the franchise. After Hunt is captured by the Syndicate, led by Harris’s character Solomon Lane, he is tortured for information and later escapes with Faust’s help. The Syndicate’s main goal is to reconstruct the world order through a series of violent terrorist attacks, and of course, Hunt gets blamed for the crimes, leaving him constantly on the run. It’s an age-old story. Hunt gets involved with a huge conspiracy then gets framed and must go on the run, relying on his amazing skills as an agent to take the Syndicate down before they can complete their plan. Considering that this formula has gotten the franchise this far, there’s really no reason to change it up, but director Christopher McQuarrie makes it feel fresh and new with extraordinary stunts and a deeper interest in Hunt as a character. It's no wonder that he's the only filmmaker to date to stick with the franchise for multiple sequels.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Mission: Impossible - Fallout follows Hunt, Faust, and the rest of Hunt's now-familiar team as they work to stop what’s left of the Syndicate. The organization has reformed as the Apostles, led by an unknown figure known as John Lark. After a mission to secure stolen plutonium cores doesn’t go well, Angela Bassett, finally joining the franchise as CIA Director Erika Sloane, assigns Henry Cavill ’s August Walker to oversee Hunt’s future missions. Meanwhile, an arms dealer named Alanna Mitsopolis, or the White Widow (a new character played by Vanessa Kirby ) causes trouble for Hunt and the IMF by stealing the plutonium to make a deal. According to Mitsopolis’s offer, Hunt must secure Lane (the villain from the previous movie) and deliver him to MI6, and she will give him the plutonium cores for the CIA and IMF. Of course, very little goes according to plan, as Hunt discovers that the person known as Lark is closer than he thought. Set two years after Rogue Nation , the two films’ plots are heavily intertwined, so it’s best to watch them together if you can.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

The latest chapter of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One features even bigger stunts than ever before and adds a host of exciting new cast members, including Hayley Atwell , Pom Klementieff , Shea Whigham, Esai Morales , Indira Varma , Cary Elwes , and Mark Gatiss , among others. Christopher McQuarrie once again wrote and directed the movie and will be doing the same for MIssion: Impossible 8 . The film introduces a new threat involving a familiar face, an organization known as the Community. It is by far the biggest film in the series, both in terms of cast and scope.

What's Next?

With every new installment, the Mission: Impossible franchise gets better and better. And while Dead Reckoning Part One may just be the best it's ever been, Cruise and McQuarrie will be looking to top that with Mission: Impossible 8 . However, the film has been delayed multiple times and has undergone a quiet name change. As of now, the eighth part of Ethan Hunt's story is set to premiere on Memorial Day, May 23, 2025.

Watch the Mission: Impossible franchise on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Tom Cruise's First 10 Movies, Ranked

From Taps to Risky Business, here are the first 10 movies of the beloved, talented Tom Cruise, ranked.

Tom Cruise , like most young actors, began his acting career by gracing the screen with smaller roles in films such as Endless Love , Taps , and more. However, it was his captivating performances in acclaimed works like the comedy Risky Business and the action-packed blockbuster Top Gun that catapulted him into the spotlight of mainstream Hollywood. His remarkable portrayal in Risky Business not only garnered him his initial nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, but also paved the way for a string of box office successes. Without question, Cruise stands as one of the most influential figures in the realm of the movie industry.

Beyond his good looks and charismatic personality, Cruise is one versatile and talented actor with a track record of over three decades of blockbuster films. There's no denying that his filmography is dominated by high-grossing movies . Among his notable achievements is the immensely successful Mission Impossible franchise, which began in 1996 and will see Cruise reprising his iconic role as Ethan Hunt in the upcoming installments set to release in July 2023. Apart from being talented, Cruise always goes the extreme mile to entertain his audience, solidifying his status as one of the most dedicated actors in Hollywood . Now, let’s take a look at his first films, ranked from worst to best.

10 Endless Love (1981)

Endless Love marked the beginning of Cruise’s filmography. He was only a teenager when he played Billy, who was introduced in the film with Cruise's distinctive running style. While the lead actors Martin Hewitt and Brooke Shields may be familiar to many, Cruise's debut role may go unnoticed by some. Who would have guessed that the unknown actor who portrayed obnoxious Billy would go on to become one of the world's biggest movie stars?

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, this romantic drama based on the novel of the same name by Scott Spencer. The plot revolves around the intense and obsessive love between two teenagers named David Axelrod and Jade Butterfield. Cruise just had less than one-minute screen time in this thought-provoking exploration of the dark side of teen romance.

9 All the Right Moves (1983)

Set in a small town devoid of much optimism for the future, this football drama presents viewers with an opportunity to witness some of their favorite stars in their early years, including Cruise, Chris Penn, Craig T. Nelson, and Lea Thompson. All the Right Moves perfectly captures the essence of 80s American cinema as it unravels the tale of a young aspiring football player who finds himself trapped in a Pennsylvania steel-mining town. Determined to pursue his dreams, he must strive to secure a football scholarship.

While some fans have dismissed this sports film as dull or clichéd, it still holds nostalgic value for those eager to witness the early performances of Cruise and his co-stars. Though it may not rank among the greatest sports movies ever made, it delivers decent amount of drama and explores poignant themes that touch the viewers' hearts.

Related: Tom Cruise's Best Action Movie Characters, Ranked

8 Losin’ it (1982)

Starring Cruise, Jackie Earle Haley, John Stockwell, Shelley Long, and John P. Navin, this raunchy comedy delves into the themes of sexual awakening, adolescence curiosity and the importance of friendship. Set in 1965, the movie follows a group of four teenage friends who embark on a road trip from California to Tijuana, Mexico, in search of adventure, fun and freedom they believe awaits them there.

With its humorous plot, Losin’ It doesn’t pretend to be anything more than a typical, raunchy teen film akin to the popular movies of the 80s. It’s a fun movie to watch with bunch of friends on a Friday night. However, critics seem to think it is no good at all.

7 Cocktail (1988)

Cocktail stars Cruise, Bryan Brown, and Elizabeth Sue as it tells the story of Brian, a young New York Business school student, who takes up bartending to make ends meet. During his work in this trendy bar, Brian encounters Dough Coughlin and the two form a strong friendship and decide to open their own bar, driven by the desire to make some money.

While some argue that the storyline may be lacking in depth, the film showcases outstanding performances from its cast. Additionally, many view it as a delightful and entertaining 80s film. The film does capture the excitement of nightlife while delving into the personal journeys and relationships of its characters.

6 The Outsiders (1983)

Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the 1960s, this is the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by S.E. Hinton and it is directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The story revolves around the lives of two rival teenage gangs known as the “Greasers” and “the Socs” and the struggles they face in a divided and violent society.

The Outsiders stands as a timeless movie that continues to resonate even in our present society in its depiction of the impact of gangsterism on people and those entangled in its web. Beyond its compelling narrative, the movie features a likable, cast which includes, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, Thomas Howell, and others who have gone on to become famous.

5 Taps (1981)

Directed by Harold Becker, Taps is set at the fictional Bunker Hill Military Academy, an elite preparatory school for boys. The plot revolves around a group of students who take drastic measures to defend their school at all costs after the school long-time headmaster announces the impending closure of their beloved institution. Among these determined individuals is Cruise, who plays the role of David, a dedicated Cadet and member of a secret society led by Brian (Timothy Hutton).

Hutton is not alone in delivering the ideal blend of fiery temperament, courage, and gravitas required for his role. Sean Penn and Cruise, as young cadets, also flawlessly embody their characters as hot-headed soldiers. As these misguided youth battle with the conflicting ideas of honor and valor, the film confronts issues of narrow-mindedness and idealism. With its well-written script and outstanding direction, Taps manages to the holds viewers’ attention from start to finish, even during moments that may seem implausible.

Related: Every Tom Cruis Movie from the 1990s, Ranked

4 Legend (1985)

In this mesmerizing fantasy film directed by Ridley Scott , Cruise proves his versatility as an actor by assuming the role of Jack, a determined young man who must stop the nefarious Lord of Darkness. The story revolves around Jack and an intrepid young princess who join forces to safeguard the last unicorn from the clutches of the Lord of Darkness.

Similar to his previous works like Blade Runner and Alien , Scott once again demonstrates his talent for crafting immersive experiences within peculiar and fantastical realms that stem from his visionary imagination. The exceptional performances by Cruise, Mia Sara, and Tim Curry contribute to Legend ’s immersive nature. The stunning cinematography, impressive special effects, and the enchanting presence of creatures like fairies, unicorns, and goblins make this movie appealing to admirers of artistic and visually striking cinema.

3 The Color of Money (1986)

Directed by Martin Scorsese, the sports drama film, The Color of Money , serves as a brilliant sequel to the 1961 classic The Hustler , returning after 25 years to continue the story of Eddie Felson, portrayed by the legendary Paul Newman. The film follows as Eddie Felson takes a young and talented pool player, Vincent Laurie, under his wing to teach him the art of hustling. However, their relationship becomes complicated when Eddie discovers Vincent isn’t patient enough to be tutored.

While Paul Newman shines as the film's star, Cruise delivers a memorable performance that leaves a lasting impact. Although it may not be considered Scorsese's greatest masterpiece, the film showcases his masterful directorial touch evident in the precision and artistry of each shot.

2 Top Gun (1986)

No list of Cruise's greatest movies would be complete without mentioning this captivating tale that originated back in 1986 and was brought to life once again in 2022, after a span of over 30 years. Top Gun: Maverick stands as a remarkable remake that not only lives up to the immense anticipation surrounding its predecessor, but also surpasses it.

In the first film, Top Gun , Cruise plays the hotshot Navy pilot with exceptional flying skills and a rebellious attitude. Directed by Tony Scott the film follows the story of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a talented and daring young fighter pilot as he undergoes intense training at the United States Navy's elite Fighter Weapons School. To win the prestigious Top Gun Trophy, he must learn to suppress his wild nature.

1 Risky Business (1983)

Stepping into the shoes of the ambitious high school student in this comedy film, Cruise finally landed his breakout role. Written and directed by Paul Brickman, this teen comedy drama follows Joel as he delves into a world of risky business dealings after just one night of freedom while his parents are away. As he delves deeper into this unconventional, his life takes an unexpected turn, and he must face the consequence of his choices to make things right.

Serving as a commentary on the consequences of greed, Risky Business manages to be more than just another teen sex comedy of the 80s. With its engaging storyline, stellar cast, and memorable music, it has earned its place among the finest movies of the 1980s.

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(Photo by Paramount /Courtesy Everett Collection)

How to Watch Mission: Impossible Movies In Order

If you want to watch the Mission: Impossible movies in order and see Ethan Hunt get in his daily steps, fall from high up, take a deep breath, defy mask policy, catch a plane, and kick ass and chew bubblegum (he gets them from the IMF snack room), you can watch the movies as they released, no prequel plotting here.

• Mission: Impossible (1998)
• Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Now, if you’re new to the series, do you actually need to watch all the Mission: Impossible movies in order? If you were a big fan of the original TV series , you’d probably give a bellowing NO, since the 1996 Mission: Impossible movie re-introduced the Jim Phelps hero role and then gave him a thoroughly impressive character assassination. But that’s just director Brian de Palma taking the piss out of the blockbuster and Tom Cruise taking the reins of the IP on his own terms.

So the first M:I movie is a perfectly good place to start if you’ve never seen the TV show, likely since it’s over 50 years old at this point. It’s also more of a spy thriller — all dense plotting and subdued action, but with an explosive set piece or two that would become the series’ trademark. There isn’t really an overarching story to Mission: Impossible until the latter-half of the franchise, but this movie does introduce support characters like hacker Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames, who’s appeared in every movie) and then-IMF director Eugene Kittridge, who returns for Dead Reckoning .

Mission: Impossible 2 is the most skippable of the series, both in story and quality. Anyone who’s seen director John Woo’s Hong Kong stuff will likely find this one more palatable, believing that a man can fly and motorcycles can duel.

Cruise hand-picked J.J. Abrams to direct a soft reboot for Mission: Impossible III , which expands more of Hunt’s IMF team (including Simon Pegg’s Benji) and introduces Michelle Monaghan as Ethan’s fiancée Julia.

For the fourth Impossible , Ghost Protocol , Cruise made another unlikely choice for director: Brad Bird, making his live-action debut. This is where the series really establishes itself in the upper echelon of action filmmaking, and set the standard for death-defying practical stunts for each release.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) 97%

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) 96%

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015) 94%

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) 93%

Mission: Impossible III (2006) 71%

Mission: Impossible (1996) 66%

Mission: Impossible II (2000) 56%

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Screen Rant

36-year-old tom cruise movie with 9% on rotten tomatoes has the perfect remake cast after $216m hit.

One critically-panned box office hit from Tom Cruise is ripe for a remake, and the perfect cast can be found in the leads of 2023's rom-com success.

• Casting the leads from 2024's successful rom-com, Anyone but You, could elevate a remake of Tom Cruise's 1988 Cocktail movie.
• The success of 2024's Road House remake suggests modern remakes of divisive '80s classics can work today.
• Glen Powell's Top Gun role proves he could successfully replace Tom Cruise in a potential Cocktail remake.

With Road House (2024) paving the way for more modern remakes of cult classic ‘80s thrillers, the potential for Tom Cruise’s 1988 movie Cocktail to be remade could work better by casting the leads from 2023’s big rom-com success. The 1980s was an incredible decade for entries in the so-bad-they’re-good action/thriller subgenre , with movies like Patrick Swayze’s Road House failing to impress critics but remaining beloved for their lack of self-seriousness and entertainment value. The cast of 2024’s Road House remake maintains this sentiment in the remake of the 1989 film, with its divisive success making additional remakes of movies of this vein more likely.

While not as fondly remembered as Road House , another ‘80s hit that falls into this category is Tom Cruise’s 1988 movie Cocktail . The movie follows Cruise’s Brian Flanagan, a business student working as a successful bartender, whose relationships with his coworker Doug (Bryan Brown) and romantic interest Jordan (Elisabeth Shue) lead to a series of unexpected twists and turns. Though the film holds a meager 9% score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was a smash box office smash, earning $171.5 million against an estimated budget of $20 million (via Box Office Mojo ). Following Road House ’s success, it could finally be time to give Cruse's Cocktail the modern remake treatment .

Road House Proves Jake Gyllenhaal Is Perfect For Upcoming Reboot Of 30-Year-Old Jean-Claude Van Damme Action Movie

Glen powell & sydney sweeney would be perfect for a cocktail remake after anyone but you, the two actors could fill the shoes of tom cruise and elisabeth shue.

One crucial factor contributing to the success of Doug Liman’s 2024 Road House remake was its compelling lead cast, with action star Jake Gyllenhaal taking over Patrick Swayze’s character from the original while UFC champion Conor McGregor assumed the cartoonish villain role . Similar to Road House ’s remake requiring an actor with Swayze’s star power and charisma, a Cocktail remake would need an actor with comparable allure to ‘80s-era Tom Cruise for Brian Flanagan . Likewise, with Elisabeth Shue having been one of the biggest female stars of the ‘80s, a Cocktail remake would need an actress of similar popularity and appeal to step into the role of Jordan Mooney.

Anyone but You (2024) and Cocktail (1988) are available to rent or purchase from digital retailers like Amazon Prime Video and YouTube.

If Cocktail does get a remake, these casting requirements can easily be found in the leads of the 2023 hit movie Anyone but You . Though also divisive among critics, Anyone but You was a certified box office smash as it went on to earn over $216 million against a $25 million budget. In addition to a witty script and fun premise, much of Anyone but You ’s success can be attributed to the casting and chemistry of Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney as the two romantic leads. In 2024, Powell and Sweeney aren’t too off from the cards that Cruise and Shue brought to the table back in 1988 for Cocktail .

Much of Anyone but You ’s success can be attributed to the casting and chemistry of Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney as the two romantic leads.

Powell already had rom-com experience with films like Set It Up ahead of Anyone but You , but made a bigger name for his action roles in movies such as Top Gun: Maverick , Devotion , Hit Man , and, now, the upcoming Twisters sequel movie . Meanwhile, Sweeney has proven widely popular with audiences after her roles in Euphoria , The White Lotus , and Immaculate , and both actors prove increasingly bankable with each new release. With the original Cocktail movie’s negative critical and audience response making it ripe for improvement , Powell and Sweeney could provide the star power a remake would need to successfully adapt the same-named 1984 novel.

Sydney Sweeney's New Record-Breaking Movie Confirms Her Box Office Dominance (Just Ignore THAT Movie)

Remaking cocktail sounds better than anyone but you 2 for powell & sweeney, anyone but you doesn't need a direct sequel.

Following the success Anyone but You , Sweeney and Powell announced they were reading scripts and searching for their next collaboration together. While some have thrown around the idea of returning to Bea and Ben’s story with a potential Anyone but You 2 movie , the original movie being based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing makes a sequel unnecessary. Rather, it seems more likely that Powell and Sweeney’s “sequel” will be a completely different film that pairs them as romantic leads.

It seems more likely that Powell and Sweeney’s “sequel” will be a completely different film that pairs them as romantic leads.

This was a common tactic for 1990s romantic comedies, which would see romantic leads like Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts and Richard Gere reunite in another rom-com instead of making a direct sequel to their past success. Consequently, with Sweeney and Powell searching for their next film collaboration, a remake of Cocktail could provide a fitting follow-up to Anyone but You . With Powell playing Brian and Sweeney playing Jordan, the duo would just need to find a new Doug to enhance their existing chemistry, potentially creating the perfect recipe to improve upon Cruise’s original movie.

Road House 2024's Success Proves Remakes Of Divisive '80s Thrillers Can Work Today

The bar is set lower, but it needs to maintain '80s movie's tone.

Remakes of 1980s hits don’t always work out, with some proving to be unnecessary if the original was already a hit and a product of its time. However, there are some notable exceptions, with Amazon’s 2024 Road House movie being one of them. The Road House remake’s Rotten Tomatoes score is already better than the 1989 original (59% compared to 43%), and smashed records for Prime Video’s movie premiere viewership numbers to prove its popularity among audiences. Though many fans of the original may reasonably remain more loyal to Swayze’s 1989 iteration, it’s difficult to deny the entertainment value and success of the remake.

Considering Cocktail has a much less beloved reputation than 1989’s Road House , remaking the Tom Cruise film isn’t apt to come with as much apprehension or high expectations. With an already divisive original movie, there isn’t as big of a risk of “ ruining ” the original, as the bar is relatively lower when aiming to improve upon certain aspects of the first film that didn’t initially land with critics and audiences. Of course, with cult classics, it helps if the remake maintains the tone of the original, such as 2024’s Road House protecting the campiness and lack of self-seriousness of the 1989 film.

Top Gun: Maverick Highlights How Glen Powell Could Replace Tom Cruise's Brian In Cocktail

Powell and cruise's characters share similar qualities in top gun.

A potential Cocktail remake wouldn’t be the first time that Glen Powell has stepped into an ‘80s-based Tom Cruise property. Powell starred in Cruise’s 2022 hit Top Gun: Maverick as Hangman , who served a role similar to Val Kilmer’s Iceman from the 1986 original movie. Consequently, it’s already clear that Powell has qualities similar to Cruise in that era, which would make him taking over a character that Cruise originated easier to grasp.

The greatest way to make [a Cocktail remake] more enticing would be to get Tom Cruise to return as well.

Similar to Hangman or Maverick, a character like Brian Flanagan has an air of cockiness and confidence that contrasts with his need to prove himself. Powell’s past movies have demonstrated that he could take on this type of character successfully, having to balance the cockiness and heroism of his Top Gun character with the earnestness and rom-com lead chops of his Anyone but You role. While Powell and Sweeney potentially starring in a Cocktail remake would already give it a leg up, the greatest way to make it more enticing would be to get Tom Cruise to return as well.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Anyone But You

Anyone But You is a romantic comedy by director Will Gluck starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell. Sweeny and Powell star as Bea and Ben, two strangers with an incredible first date that goes sour following one incident at the tail end. Thinking the worst is behind them, the two are roped into a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia, where they'll have to pretend to be a couple despite absolutely hating each other.

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Tom Cruise Movies List

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Top Gun (1986)

PG | 109 min | Action, Drama

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Tim Robbins , Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer

Votes: 501,128 | Gross: $179.80M

2. Taps (I) (1981)

PG | 126 min | Drama

Military cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Director: Harold Becker | Stars: George C. Scott , Timothy Hutton , Ronny Cox , Sean Penn

Votes: 20,054 | Gross: $35.86M

3. The Outsiders (1983)

PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama

In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell , Matt Dillon , Ralph Macchio , Patrick Swayze

Votes: 97,184 | Gross: $25.60M

4. Losin' It (1982)

R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jackie Earle Haley , John Stockwell , John P. Navin Jr.

Votes: 5,209 | Gross: $1.25M

5. Risky Business (1983)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.

Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca De Mornay , Joe Pantoliano , Richard Masur

Votes: 99,566 | Gross: $63.50M

6. All the Right Moves (1983)

R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.

Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Lea Thompson , Craig T. Nelson , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,363 | Gross: $17.23M

7. Legend (1985)

PG | 94 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Mia Sara , Tim Curry , David Bennent

Votes: 72,280 | Gross: $15.50M

8. The Color of Money (1986)

R | 119 min | Drama, Sport

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman , Tom Cruise , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Helen Shaver

Votes: 93,102 | Gross: $52.29M

9. Cocktail (1988)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.

Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Brown , Elisabeth Shue , Lisa Banes

Votes: 91,655 | Gross: $78.22M

10. Rain Man (1988)

R | 133 min | Drama

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino , Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 545,611 | Gross: $178.80M

11. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

The biography of Ron Kovic . Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Larkin , Raymond J. Barry , Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,630 | Gross: $70.00M

12. Days of Thunder (1990)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sport

A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Robert Duvall , Randy Quaid

Votes: 96,189 | Gross: $82.67M

13. Far and Away (1992)

PG-13 | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

A young Irish couple flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Thomas Gibson , Robert Prosky

Votes: 68,193 | Gross: $58.88M

14. A Few Good Men (1992)

R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller

Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore , Kevin Bacon

Votes: 286,603 | Gross: $141.34M

15. The Firm (1993)

R | 154 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeanne Tripplehorn , Gene Hackman , Hal Holbrook

Votes: 147,390 | Gross: $158.35M

16. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt , Tom Cruise , Antonio Banderas , Kirsten Dunst

Votes: 346,567 | Gross: $105.26M

17. Mission: Impossible (1996)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jon Voight , Emmanuelle Béart , Henry Czerny

Votes: 469,379 | Gross: $180.98M

18. Jerry Maguire (1996)

R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Renée Zellweger , Kelly Preston

Votes: 286,445 | Gross: $153.95M

19. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Todd Field , Sydney Pollack

Votes: 374,049 | Gross: $55.69M

20. Magnolia (1999)

R | 188 min | Drama

An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jason Robards , Julianne Moore , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 327,881 | Gross: $22.46M

21. Mission: Impossible II (2000)

PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Director: John Woo | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dougray Scott , Thandiwe Newton , Ving Rhames

Votes: 377,002 | Gross: $215.41M

22. Vanilla Sky (2001)

R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Penélope Cruz , Cameron Diaz , Kurt Russell

Votes: 285,227 | Gross: $100.61M

23. Minority Report (2002)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Colin Farrell , Samantha Morton , Max von Sydow

Votes: 583,248 | Gross: $132.07M

24. The Last Samurai (2003)

R | 154 min | Action, Drama

Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Ken Watanabe , Billy Connolly , William Atherton

Votes: 469,903 | Gross: $111.11M

25. Collateral (2004)

R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jamie Foxx , Jada Pinkett Smith , Mark Ruffalo

Votes: 432,286 | Gross: $101.01M

26. War of the Worlds (2005)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dakota Fanning , Tim Robbins , Miranda Otto

Votes: 474,215 | Gross: $234.28M

27. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.

Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise , Michelle Monaghan , Ving Rhames , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 390,025 | Gross: $134.03M

28. Lions for Lambs (2007)

R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Tom Cruise , Meryl Streep , Robert Redford , Michael Peña

Votes: 52,610 | Gross: $15.00M

29. Tropic Thunder (2008)

R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller , Jack Black , Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Kahn

Votes: 446,996 | Gross: $110.52M

30. Valkyrie (2008)

PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller

A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bill Nighy , Carice van Houten , Kenneth Branagh

Votes: 258,850 | Gross: $83.08M

31. Knight and Day (2010)

PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cameron Diaz , Peter Sarsgaard , Jordi Mollà

Votes: 210,098 | Gross: $76.42M

32. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg , Paula Patton

Votes: 527,634 | Gross: $209.40M

33. Rock of Ages (2012)

PG-13 | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

A small-town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.

Director: Adam Shankman | Stars: Julianne Hough , Diego Boneta , Tom Cruise , Alec Baldwin

Votes: 81,572 | Gross: $38.52M

34. Jack Reacher (2012)

PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller

A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper responsible for a mass shooting.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rosamund Pike , Richard Jenkins , Werner Herzog

Votes: 364,480 | Gross: $80.07M

35. Oblivion (I) (2013)

PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A veteran assigned to extract Earth's remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself.

Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Tom Cruise , Morgan Freeman , Andrea Riseborough , Olga Kurylenko

Votes: 552,309 | Gross: $89.02M

36. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.

Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Emily Blunt , Bill Paxton , Brendan Gleeson

Votes: 734,713 | Gross: $100.21M

37. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

Ethan and his team take on their most impossible mission yet when they have to eradicate an international rogue organization as highly skilled as they are and committed to destroying the IMF.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca Ferguson , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg

Votes: 410,143 | Gross: $195.04M

38. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Crime, Drama

Jack Reacher must uncover the truth behind a major government conspiracy in order to clear his name while on the run as a fugitive from the law.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cobie Smulders , Aldis Hodge , Robert Knepper

Votes: 174,926 | Gross: $58.70M

39. The Mummy (2017)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

An ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Director: Alex Kurtzman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Sofia Boutella , Annabelle Wallis , Russell Crowe

Votes: 205,800 | Gross: $80.10M

40. American Made (2017)

R | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.

Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Domhnall Gleeson , Sarah Wright , Jesse Plemons

Votes: 207,526 | Gross: $51.34M

41. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

PG-13 | 147 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Henry Cavill , Ving Rhames , Simon Pegg

Votes: 377,291 | Gross: $220.16M

42. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Drama

After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN's elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it.

Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jennifer Connelly , Miles Teller , Val Kilmer

Votes: 691,064 | Gross: $718.73M

43. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

PG-13 | 163 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise , Hayley Atwell , Ving Rhames , Simon Pegg

Votes: 244,006 | Gross: $172.14M

44. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two (2025)

Action, Adventure, Thriller | Post-production

The 8th entry in the long running Mission Impossible franchise.

Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Katy O'Brian , Tom Cruise , Vanessa Kirby , Hayley Atwell

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