With the long-awaited sequel Tom Cruise to make a billion-dollar movie, and Top Gun: Maverick's historic haul is the culmination of a career that has been defined by over a dozen movies that made it past $100 million, multiple movies that hit $500 million, and even one or two that almost reached the pivotal number.
However, it took until the much-delayed Mission Impossible spy thriller franchise consistently pulling in impressive box office numbers. With Mission Impossible 7 finally arriving in 2023, it is fair to speculate whether lightning can strike twice for the actor. However, there is a confluence of factors to consider when weighing Cruise’s future chances at the box office.
Cruise crossing the line and finally netting himself a billion-dollar hit bodes well for the future of the Mission Impossible franchise. However, Mission Impossible: Fall Out and Mission Impossible 7 can’t compare with Top Gun: Maverick's multi-decade wait.
Why Mission: Impossible 7 Might Not Make a Billion Dollars
Mission Impossible 7 is making the risky decision to market the movie as the first installment of a two-part outing for the franchise, which could keep it from being another billion-dollar hit. Moviegoers going to see Top Gun: Maverick thought Cruise’s character could die in the highly hyped sequel, having not seen the character for almost four decades. While it was always unlikely that a Mission Impossible movie would kill off Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, the fact that the sequel is being d as one half of a two-part story makes Ethan's survival an inevitability and saps the story of its stakes as a result.
Even with this in mind, however, there is still a solid chance that Mission Impossible 7 will manage to equal Top Gun: Maverick’s extraordinary box office performance. Cruise remains one of the biggest movie stars in the world and one of the only actors who can headline a franchise without the help of a brand like the MCU, DCEU, or Disney, and Top Gun: Maverick’s escapist success proves that Mission Impossible’s goofy, over-the-top stylings could be just what the multiplex wants in 2023. Not everything about Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is as primed for billion-dollar success as Top Gun: Maverick was, but that’s no reason to bet against the enduring appeal of star Tom Cruise.
