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Cruise has earned over $1 billion in his career as an actor
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Hiranmayi Srinivasan
Full Bio
Hiranmayi Srinivasan is an Associate Editor for Investopedia. She has covered personal finance topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, and economic news at Dotdash Meredith since 2021, and has experience working in digital and broadcast newsrooms.
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Updated July 16, 2023
Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One hit theaters on Wednesday, earning close to $16 million at the box office on opening day. The film is expected to rake in up to $70.5 million over its opening weekend, according to Deadline. The movie star's salary for the last two Mission: Impossible films was between $12 to $14 million, but he will earn a “significant” cut of the films’ box office sales, according to Variety.
But the Hollywood action hero is no stranger to box office hits—Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick brought in a record $124 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
Thanks to the Top Gun sequel, Cruise was the highest-paid Hollywood actor in 2022, according to Insider. Cruise has earned over $1 billion in his 40-year acting career, according to Forbes. Cruise has an estimated net worth of $600 million as of 2023, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Here’s how Cruise made his millions.
Key Takeaways
- Tom Cruise has an estimated net worth of $600 million as of 2023, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
- Cruise’s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One hit theaters on July 12, and earned close to $16 million at the box office on opening day.
- Cruise has earned over $1 billion in his 40-year acting career, according to Forbes.
Acting
Cruise has had an illustrious four-decade career in Hollywood, and earned over a billion dollars doing it. His first major role was in the 1983 film Risky Business, which earned $64 million and made Cruise a star.
Cruise’s career continued to soar with the release of the original Top Gun in 1986, which brought in a lofty $357 million worldwide.
In 1996, Cruise starred in the first Mission: Impossible movie, which earned $457 million worldwide. The Oscar-nominated actor has made millions off the blockbuster Mission: franchise. In 2012, Cruise earned an estimated $75 million from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and Jack Reacher, according to Forbes. Mission: Impossible — Fallout, the sixth film in the series, earned $787 million in global ticket sales in 2018, setting a record for Cruise—until 2022, when Top Gun’s sequel set a new one.
Cruise took home an estimated $100 million in 2022 from Top Gun: Maverick, including ticket sales, his salary, and a portion of streaming revenue, according to Variety. While the actor’s base salary was about $12.5 million for the Top Gun sequel, his massive total payout was thanks to a deal where he earns 10% of the revenue from tickets and rights for the film. This type of deal is referred to as a “first-dollar gross” in Hollywood. Top Gun: Maverick went on to earn over $1 billion worldwide, and is the highest-grossing movie of Cruise’s career. The film was a nominee in the Best Picture category at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Real Estate
The Oscar-nominated actor has an expansive real estate portfolio, and has bought and sold multi-million dollar properties across the U.S. In 2021, Cruise sold his 320-acre ranch in Telluride, Colorado for nearly $40 million, according to Realtor. The Jerry Maguire actor also bought a penthouse and several condos in Skyview Tower in Tampa, Florida for over $10 million in 2017. In 2016, Cruise sold the Beverly Hills, California compound he shared with his ex-wife Katie Holmes for $38 million.
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Deadline. "'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Par One' Gets 'A' CinemaScore;How 5-Day Is Shaping Up - Box Office Update."
Variety. "Box Office: 'Top Gun: Maverick' Debuts to Stratospheric $124 Million."
Insider. "Highest Paid Actors of 2022: Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, Margot Robbie."
Forbes. "With 'Maverick' Milestone, Tom Cruise's Career Earnings Now Top $1 Billion."
Celebrity Net Worth. "Tom Cruise."
Fox Business. "'Mission: Impossible': What has the Tom Cruise-led franchise brought in at the box office?"
Deadline. "‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Cruises To No. 2 In Deadline’s 2022 Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament."
Realtor. "Tom Cruise Sells His Luxe Colorado Ranch for $39.5M."
Realtor. "Let's Take a Peek Inside Tom Cruise's Property Portfolio."
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