As of 2025, Tom Cruise’s films have grossed over USD 10 billion globally, according to The Numbers, with Top Gun: Maverick (2022) leading the pack. It soared close to USD 1.5 billion at the global box office, proving that Cruise’s appeal transcends generations. Meanwhile, his long-running Mission: Impossible franchise continues to be a cinematic juggernaut, with Fallout, Dead Reckoning Part One, and now Final Reckoning raking in hundreds of millions worldwide.
The Final Reckoning premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and was released on 17 May. The eighth instalment of the acclaimed franchise comes from director Christopher McQuarrie, as Ethan Hunt captivates the audience with nerve-wracking stunts and chases.
The movie had a strong start, earning USD 64 million in its opening weekend — the biggest opening in the franchise’s history. Over the Memorial Day holiday, it made USD 15 million, bringing the U.S. total to USD 79 million, according to Box Office Mojo. This pushed its total worldwide earnings to USD 222 million.
As the numbers soar to colossal heights, we dive into the top-performing movies of Tom Cruise’s career, which have added significantly to his massive net worth.
From pulse-pounding missions to alien invasions and fighter jet nostalgia, these blockbusters chart the stardom and popularity of one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars.
These highest-grossing Tom Cruise movies show why he is one of the most bankable stars
1 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 370 million
Director: Doug Liman
Release date: 6 June 2014
Cast: Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson
With a budget of USD 178 million, the returns might initially seem modest, yet Edge of Tomorrow remains one of Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing films. According to Box Office Mojo, it earned approximately USD 370 million worldwide — proof of the actor’s enduring global popularity.
The film centres on an alien invasion that leaves Earth on the brink of destruction. Major William Cage (Cruise), an inexperienced officer with no combat training, is abruptly thrust into battle and killed within minutes. However, he finds himself caught in a time loop, forced to relive the same brutal day of combat over and over. With each cycle, Cage becomes stronger and more skilled. Together with elite Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt), he inches closer to defeating the seemingly unstoppable extraterrestrial threat.
2 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 398 million
Director: J.J. Abrams
Release date: 5 May 2006
Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Ving Rhames, Philip Seymour Hoffman
This instalment delves deeper into the personal life of Ethan Hunt. Having stepped away from field duty, Ethan is drawn out of retirement just before his wedding to Julia (Monaghan) to rejoin his IMF team. His mission: to rescue a captured operative from the clutches of ruthless arms dealer Owen Davian (Hoffman). While Ethan succeeds in his objective, the consequences prove to be devastatingly personal.
3 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 409 million
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Release date: 9 June 2017
Cast: Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe
The Mummy may not be considered one of Tom Cruise’s best films, but in terms of box office performance, it ranks among his highest-grossing titles. According to Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, the film earned over USD 409 million worldwide, against a production budget of USD 125 million. The Mummy is an action-packed remake, drawing inspiration from both the Brendan Fraser-led franchise and the original Boris Karloff classic of the same name.
In the film, tomb raider Nick Morton (Cruise) accidentally uncovers the tomb of an ancient Egyptian princess named Ahmanet (Boutella) during a firefight in the Middle East. However, when Nick and British Egyptologist Jenny Halsey (Wallis) attempt to excavate the site, they inadvertently awaken Ahmanet, unleashing her vengeful power on the modern world.
4 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 454 million
Director: Edward Zwick
Release date: 1 December 2003
Cast: Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Awards: Nominated for four Academy Awards and three Golden Globes.
This was one of Tom Cruise’s strongest performances, earning a 7.8 rating on IMDb. It was also the highest-grossing film of the year and, at the time, his most commercially successful project outside the Mission: Impossible franchise. According to Box Office Mojo, the film grossed USD 343.5 million in foreign markets, far surpassing its production budget of USD 140 million.
The Last Samurai follows Cruise’s character, Nathan Algren, a former American Civil War soldier who has become disillusioned with his country following traumatic experiences on the battlefield. Sent to Japan as a mercenary, he is captured by samurai and brought to their village. Over time, Nathan begins to adopt their culture, and they come to accept him as one of their own.
Image credit: The Last Samurai via IMDb
Also read: Tom Cruise action movies beyond Mission: Impossible
5 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 457 million
Director: Brian De Palma
Release date: 22 May 1996
Cast: Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Kristin Scott Thomas, Henry Czerny
This is where it all began — the film that laid the foundation for what would become one of the highest-grossing movie franchises in the world. Tom Cruise had already made a name for himself in Hollywood, but with this film, he established himself as a tour de force in the action genre, spawning a series of financially successful sequels. In line with the television show of the same name, this film brings Ethan Hunt to the big screen for the first time.
When Jim Phelps (Voight) is sent to Prague to prevent the theft of classified material, his wife Claire (Béart) and trusted partner Ethan Hunt are part of his team. However, after the mission fails, Ethan is the sole survivor. Kittridge (Czerny), the head of the IMF agency, suspects Ethan of killing his comrades and sabotaging the mission. Now, Ethan must use unorthodox methods to clear his name and uncover who is truly behind it.
6 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 546 million
Director: John Woo
Release date: 24 May 2000
Cast: Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton
The second instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise was a major box office triumph, earning USD 100 million more than its predecessor and emerging as one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. The film played a pivotal role in solidifying Tom Cruise’s status as a bankable Hollywood star with a Midas touch. Packed with high-octane stunts and adrenaline-fuelled action sequences, it impressed audiences worldwide, arriving four years after the original.
In Mission: Impossible II, Ethan Hunt teams up with Nyah Hall (Newton) and his IMF colleagues to stop rogue agent Sean Ambrose (Scott), who has stolen the only antidote to a deadly virus known as Chimera.
7 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 571 million
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Release date: 10 July 2023
Cast: Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg
Awards: Nominated for two Oscars, two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe in 2024. It won Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was widely regarded as a disappointment, particularly when compared to previous instalments in the franchise that comfortably exceeded USD 680 million. Several factors likely contributed to its performance, including numerous production setbacks caused by COVID-19 and stiff competition from the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One centres around Ethan Hunt and his IMF team as they track down a dangerous AI-powered weapon known as the Entity before it falls into the wrong hands. With the future of the world and humanity at stake, it becomes a race against time. However, one of Ethan’s old and powerful foes resurfaces to bid for it.
8 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 603 million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Release date: 29 June 2005
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin
Awards: Nominated for three Academy Awards.
Based on H.G. Wells’ seminal novel of the same name, this film saw Tom Cruise venture into the sci-fi genre, and what a phenomenal performance he delivered. Paired with Steven Spielberg’s visionary direction, it became a financial triumph and remained the actor’s highest-grossing film for a significant period, recouping its USD 132 million production budget in no time.
This alien invasion thriller follows Ray Ferrier, a working-class dockworker from New Jersey who is divorced from his first wife, Mary Ann (Otto), and has weekend custody of their two children, Rachel (Fanning) and Robbie (Chatwin). During one such visit, the estranged father finds himself in the midst of an extraterrestrial onslaught. As chaos unfolds, he must protect his children and guide them to safety, becoming their reluctant yet determined guardian.
9 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 682 million
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Release date: 31 July 2015
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin
While Box Office Mojo lists the worldwide gross as USD 682 million, The Numbers cites a slightly higher figure of USD 688 million. The fifth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise came very close to surpassing the 2011 instalment but missed the mark by a whisker.
Rogue Nation marked the first Mission: Impossible film to be directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who would go on to become one of Tom Cruise’s most frequent collaborators. The film generated a substantial USD 487 million from international markets, underscoring Cruise’s enduring global appeal.
In Rogue Nation, CIA chief Hunley (Baldwin) persuades a Senate committee to disband the IMF, deeming it too reckless and unaccountable. Now operating without official backing, Ethan Hunt sets out to dismantle a mysterious and lethal rogue organisation known as the Syndicate, which is conspiring to destroy the IMF from the shadows.
10 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 694 million
Director: Brad Bird
Release date: 16 December 2011
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist
Tom Cruise returned five years after the previous instalment with this high-octane action film, marking the fourth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Naturally, anticipation was sky-high. The film did not disappoint, earning rave reviews and showcasing astonishing stunts, including the now-iconic scene where Cruise climbs the Burj Khalifa.
The plot follows Ethan Hunt and his IMF team as they go to extraordinary lengths to clear the organisation’s name after being falsely implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin. Hunt embarks on a perilous, globe-trotting mission to track down his arch-nemesis, Kurt Hendricks (Nyqvist), the mastermind behind the chaos.
Also read: Mission: Impossible filming locations around the world you can visit
11 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 791 million
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Release date: 27 July 2018
Cast: Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg
Awards: Nominated for one BAFTA Award.
According to Box Office Mojo, the sixth instalment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, raked in a staggering USD 570 million from international markets (outside the US and Canada), highlighting Tom Cruise’s immense global appeal. The film’s success was driven in large part by a series of jaw-dropping stunts performed by Cruise himself, which became one of its standout features. Fallout is not only the highest-grossing entry in the Mission: Impossible series but also the most critically acclaimed, boasting a 7.7 rating on IMDb.
In Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Ethan Hunt and his IMF team race against time to prevent a global catastrophe orchestrated by a terrorist group known as the Apostles. With the formidable August Walker (Cavill) joining the fray, the mission escalates into the ultimate showdown.
12 /12
Worldwide box office collection: USD 1.49 billion
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Release date: 27 May 2022
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer
Awards: Nominated for six Oscars in 2023 and won Best Sound. Bagged nominations for four BAFTAs, two Golden Globes and two Grammys.
Top Gun: Maverick arrived nearly three decades after the original film — and it didn’t just match its predecessor, it soared past it, earning more than four times what the first instalment did. Not only is it the highest-grossing film of Tom Cruise’s career, but it also ranks among the most commercially successful movies of all time. Top Gun: Maverick played a pivotal role in revitalising movie theatres following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this high-octane sequel, Tom Cruise reprises his iconic role as Capt Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who returns to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program — better known as Top Gun. There, he is tasked with confronting the ghosts of his past while preparing a new generation of elite fighter pilots for a dangerous mission. Among them is Lt Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Teller), the son of Maverick’s late best friend and former wingman, Lt Nick “Goose” Bradshaw.