Tom Cruise does not have to do this (“this” being defined as the death-defying stunt of your choice), but at least he’s getting paid well to do it.
Deadline theorizes that Cruise landed “an old-fashioned movie star deal” for Top Gun: Maverick, the second highest-grossing film of 2022. “While some tell us it’s well north of $100 million, others tell us it’s double that of his best payday on Mission: Impossible, which would get him to $200 million,” the report reads. If true, that’s one of the biggest — if not the biggest — paydays for an actor ever. That kind of money will take your breath away.
While Spider-Man: No Way Home ($814.1 million U.S., $1.92 billion worldwide) gets credit for bringing people back to the cinema after COVID, Top Gun: Maverick is single-handedly responsible for welcoming older, non-frequent adult moviegoers back, and making them feel more comfortable in theaters, playing strong coast to coast. The movie broke a slew of records including Cruise’s best opening ever at the box office ($126.7 million over three days, $248 million worldwide) and his highest-grossing movie ever ($718.7M, $1.49 billion global).
Maverick is a loose cannon, but dammit, he gets results.
Cruise will next appear in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which comes out July 14. He deserves $200 million for the motorcycle scene alone.
(Via Deadline)