Top Gun: Maverick is up to $620 million at the domestic box office (and $1.2 billion worldwide), making it 2022’s highest-grossing film. It has a $209 million lead over the year’s second highest-grossing movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, or roughly the same amount as #11 (Elvis) and #12 (The Lost City) combined. Desus and Mero’s brand isn’t strong, but Tom Cruise’s is. And he’s getting paid for it.
Variety reports that “Cruise will net $100 million or more from ticket sales, his salary, and his eventual cut of home entertainment rentals and streaming revenue” for the once-unthinkable Top Gun sequel. That’s some Jack Nicholson in Batman money right there.
“I would never bet against Tom Cruise,” an unnamed studio executive told Variety. “Most actors aren’t worth what you pay them, but Cruise and maybe Dwayne Johnson justify their salaries.” If Cruise isn’t Hollywood’s last great movie star, he’s one of a select few who can sell tickets based solely on their name, not the Marvel character they’re playing.
Other notable salaries include $30 million for Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon, $20 million for Joaquin Phoenix in Joker 2 and Tom Hardy in Venom 3, and $12.5 million for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Barbie. They deserve at least $100 million for these delightful photos alone.
(Via Variety)