In January 2024, Tom Cruise shocked Hollywood by ditching Paramount Pictures for Warner Bros. The mega-star had been associated with the former since 1992, when his production company, Cruise/Wagner, struck a deal that led to the birth of the first Mission: Impossible movie. The studio went on to distribute many of Cruise's other hits. Over the years, the actor's movies would go on to generate over $6 billion in global box office revenue for Paramount. Now the money pipes will dry up. Huge loss!
Despite Tom Cruise's departure, Paramount still owns the IP for the movies he made for the studio, meaning most of them are available on Paramount+. Formerly known as CBS All Access, the streaming service mines content from CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Showtime, the Smithsonian Channel, and Paramount Pictures. But which Cruise movies should you dedicate your time to, if you are a Paramount+ subscriber? Here's what will leave you entertained.
10 'Jerry Maguire' (1996) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Jerry Maguire R Romance Comedy Drama Sport Release Date December 13, 1996 Runtime 139 minutes Director Cameron Crowe Writers Cameron Crowe Cast See All Cuba Gooding Jr Kelly Preston Jerry O'Connell Tom Cruise
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Tom Cruise stars in Jerry Maguire as Jerry (Tom Cruise), a sports agent who believes in having fewer clients to give them more attention. He gets fired for his ideology (because his bosses believe such kind of thinking is detrimental to profitability), but he sticks to his beliefs, sticking only to the star football player Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.). Rod's major success eventually justifies Jerry's approach.
'Show me the Money!"
Jerry Maguire may be NFL-based in provenance, but its appeal is widespread. No wonder it was nominated for five Oscars. It was also the highest-grossing movie of 1996. Though known for teen films at the time, director Cameron Crowe crafted this profoundly moving story about finding resolution and self-possession in the professional landscape. In what is one of the best performances of his career, Cruise is totally convincing as a man struggling with the idea of how to survive after years of entombment in a routinized white-collar existence.
9 'Mission Impossible - Fallout' (2018) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Mission: Impossible - Fallout pg-13 Action Thriller Release Date July 25, 2018 Runtime 148 Minutes Director Christopher McQuarrie Writers Christopher McQuarrie Prequel(s) Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Cast See All Tom Cruise Rebecca Ferguson Henry Cavill Vanessa Kirby
Sequel(s) Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Mission: Impossible 8 Franchise(s) Mission: Impossible Powered by Expand Collapse
Mission: Impossible - Fallout follows IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team, together with CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill), as they try to stop a terrorist group known as the Apostles from conducting terror attacks on Jerusalem, Mecca, and the Vatican. But Walker might have ulterior motives.
Eventually Possible
Fallout is widely considered the best Mission Impossible movie as it has two great villains and better high-adrenaline scenes all around (watch out for the Paris motorcycle chase sequence). Today, it remains the franchise's highest-grossing installment. Additionally, it was the first Mission: Impossible to be nominated for the Oscars (Best Sound and Best Visual Effects).
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Posts 8 'Collateral' (2004) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Collateral R Crime Documentary Drama Thriller Release Date August 6, 2004 Runtime 120 minutes Director Michael Mann Writers Stuart Beattie Cast See All Tom Cruise Jamie Foxx Jada Pinkett Smith Mark Ruffalo
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Tom Cruise as a villain? It doesn't happen too often, but boy is he terrifying when he is malevolent. Collateral concerns Max (Jamie Foxx), a Los Angeles cab driver who can't seem to catch a break. Just when he thought his night wouldn't get any worse, he picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise), a slick assassin who insists on being driven to multiple assassination targets. Things get more interesting when Max learns that one of Vincent's targets is a friendly prosecutor he had carried in his taxi earlier in the day.
Cruise Vs. Foxx
Michael Mann brought a devastating grittiness to the cinema with Heat. Here he neither adopts a polished style nor superior production values, but the end product is just as compelling, mainly because we have two of the best actors to ever exist. Nominated for Best Supporting Actor (one of two Oscar nominations for him the same year), Jamie Foxx is a revelation, and Cruise complements him well. You'll stay tensed until the final credits roll.
7 'War of the Worlds' (2005) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 War of The Worlds PG-13 Action Science Fiction Thriller Release Date June 29, 2005 Runtime 116 Minutes Director Steven Spielberg Writers Josh Friedman, David Koepp, H.G. Wells Cast See All Tom Cruise Dakota Fanning Miranda Otto Tim Robbins
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Divorced longshoreman, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), is struggling to reconnect with his kids, but that becomes the least of his worries when aliens invade. Will he be able to protect the little ones and eventually win back their love? Steven Spielberg has the answers in War of the Worlds.
Saving both Earth and Family
Spielberg's tense story about a dock worker angling for family love while battling aliens was met with worldwide acclaim upon its release, with the people at the Academy Awards recognizing it for visuals and sound. It also made bank, collecting $603 million from theaters. Cruise is perfect, and he gets great assistance from Morgan Freeman and Dakota Fanning. The plot isn't as perfect as that of the H. G. Wells' 1898 novel that the movie is based on, but you are likely to appreciate what you get.
6 'Magnolia' (1999) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Magnolia R Drama Release Date December 17, 1999 Runtime 188 minutes Director Paul Thomas Anderson Writers Paul Thomas Anderson Cast See All Jeremy Blackman Tom Cruise Melinda Dillon Philip Baker Hall
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The interconnected events in Magnolia transpire on a single day in Los Angeles. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a dying influential TV producer, seeks to reconcile with his estranged son, Frank (Tom Cruise), a fraudulent self-help guru. Former quiz show winner (William H. Macy) is plagued by solitude and a police officer falls for a woman with a questionable past.
One of the Best Movie Ensembles
Eight years before his chef-d'œuvre There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed this moving drama against a colorful yet grim background of hardship. Once again, Cruise gave one of his most affecting performances, getting an Oscar nomination for Best Actor as a result. You'll love how effectively he conveys this stubborn son's bludgeoning alienation from his family. With a conclusion you'll remember forever, Magnolia is a plaintive lamentation of life's complexities.
5 'Top Gun: Maverick' (2022) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Top Gun: Maverick PG-13 Action Drama War Release Date May 27, 2022 Runtime 130 Minutes Director Joseph Kosinski Writers Ashley Miller, Justin Marks, Peter Craig, Zack Stentz Franchise(s) Top Gun Cast Tom Cruise Miles Teller Jennifer Connelly Val Kilmer
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Top Gun: Maverick follows Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise), a stubborn Navy pilot assigned to the Top Gun school at NAS North Island, to train a new group of pilots for a mission to destroy a uranium enrichment plant. Among the trainees is Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick's late best friend, Goose, whose death Maverick blames himself for. Predictably, tensions rise.
Better than the Original Film
You won't find a better movie about pilots, though Cruise's other film, American Made, comes close. In one sense, Top Gun: Maverick is a conventional buddy tale like any other, trailing the delicately blossoming friendship between an elderly daredevil and a young ideologist. Only the buddies get to fly high-speed jets while at it, and the movie draws its heart-wrenching power from these exhilarating thrills.
Director Joseph Kosinsk's expert handling of this relationship and the action sequences all add up to an appealing, gorgeously shot blockbuster that saved cinema after COVID with a $1.5 billion gross (highest of 2022) and received a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.
4 'Vanilla Sky' (2001) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Vanilla Sky Thriller Sci-Fi 4 /5 8/10 Release Date December 14, 2001 Runtime 136 Minutes Director Cameron Crowe Writers Cameron Crowe Cast See All Tom Cruise Penelope Cruz
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David Aames (Tom Cruise) was once living "la dolce vita" in Vanilla Sky. He was the wealthy owner of a publishing company he inherited from daddy. Then he became paralyzed from a car crash caused by his jealous ex ( portrayed by Cameron Diaz). But what's really real? David soon discovers he enrolled in a cryogenic program, blurring the lines between dreams and reality.
What's Real?
With its somber tone and heavily Kafkaesque plot, Vanilla Sky offers a pensive look at the unpredictability of fate. Beautifully photographed and soulfully hyped by an award-winning song by Paul McCartney, Vanilla Sky is unusual even for its genre. Most importantly, it offers great moral lessons. Performance-wise, Diaz does much better than Cruise, but the superstar's fans are unlikely to be bothered by that.
3 'Tropic Thunder' (2008) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Tropic Thunder R Comedy Action War Release Date August 13, 2008 Runtime 107 minutes Director Ben Stiller Writers Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen, Ben Stiller Cast Ben Stiller Robert Downey Jr. Matthew McConaughey Tom Cruise
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Shooting a war movie is not easy, especially if you are an inexperienced director like Tropic Thunder's Damien Cockburn. Frustrated, the filmmaker decides to drop his actors in the middle of the jungle, having planted hidden cameras all over. He expects to benefit from improvisation, but unknown to him and the cast, they've landed in an actual war zone.
Tropic Silliness
Ben Stiller's celebrated comedy film delivers Hollywood satire wrapped in a patina of silliness and fun. There's great cinematography, bro-based dialogue, and endless use of homage, with many war movies getting lampooned. Not to forget the numerous cameos by top actors, including Cruise, who delivers a rare over-the-top and extremely hilarious performance here. For his work, he received a Golden Globe nomination.
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Posts 2 'Jack Reacher' (2012) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Jack Reacher PG-13 Action Thriller Release Date December 21, 2012 Runtime 2h 10m Director Christopher McQuarrie Writers Christopher McQuarrie Sequel(s) Jack Reacher 2 Cast See All Tom Cruise Werner Herzog Jai Courtney David Oyelowo
Franchise(s) Jack Reacher Powered by Expand Collapse
Before the critically acclaimed Prime Video series, there was Jack Reacher, starring Tom Cruise as the titular character. Here, the former United States Army Military Police Corps (USAMPC) member investigates a case involving a sniper accused of killing random people. He pairs up with defense attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike) to find the truth, and as he keeps digging, he stumbles upon a conspiracy.
A Smaller yet Competent Reacher
Tom Cruise's Reacher was heavily criticized by fans for not matching the character's physique in Lee Child's novels. However, Jack Reacher is a great movie if you ignore the lead actor's height. He might not be a big guy, but Cruise is believable as a tough guy who can do harm all by himself. We are used to seeing him with a smile, but there is none here, and that's a good thing. Enemy bones need to be broken, so Cruise stays grinning.
1 'Minority Report' (2002) Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Minority Report PG-13 Crime Sci-Fi Action Mystery Thriller Release Date June 21, 2002 Runtime 145 minutes Director Steven Spielberg Writers Scott Frank, Jon Cohen Franchise(s) Minority Report Cast See All Tom Cruise Neal McDonough Samantha Morton Colin Farrell
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Loosely based on Philip K. Dick's bestselling 1956 novella of the same name, Minority Report takes us to 2054 where the police have the technology to tell them who will commit a crime before they commit it. Prevention over cure right? Well, Chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise) soon finds a major flaw in the system, with deadly consequences.
Science Has Flaws
Steven Spielberg's weird yet clever film builds dread as it provides detailed commentary on law enforcement and the criminal justice system. His choice of an urban Washington setting is ideal, as cinematographer Janusz Kamiński uses its concrete quality to accentuate the paranoia. The film's science concepts will not be to all tastes, but genre fans should pounce. Why not, when much of the technology showcased here eventually became a reality in the future?