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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and two minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”  

— Warren Buffett

MAIN STORY: HOLLYWOOD’S LAST REAL STAR

True star power

A retired aircraft carrier adorned with fighter jets, and a red carpet fit for only the finest movie stars welcomes a helicopter with one blockbuster actor’s name painted on it.

Who could it be?

It couldn’t have been anyone other than Tom Cruise promoting last year’s nostalgia-packed hit movie — Top Gun: Maverick.

The three-hour epic promotional venture, including a flyover from F-18 fighter jets while the movie’s soundtrack played in the background, would have been over the top for the rest of Hollywood’s upper echelon. Yet, it seemed fitting for America’s favorite million-watt-smile actor.

While in the heyday of blockbuster hits, such a display might have been less unprecedented, digital marketing and streaming algorithms have largely offset fantastical publicity tours. 

Breaking it down

Nicole Sperling of the New York Times explains that, in the past, a megastar’s name alone was enough to compel audiences globally to watch whatever movie their personal brand was tied to.

Screen legends like these, from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Sylvester Stallone, transcended borders, age groups, gender, and genre.

Today’s big successes are typically tied to specific franchises, usually superhero films, or lack multigenerational appeal. Such names include Dwayne Johnson, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Ryan Reynolds, and Chris Pratt.

Unparalleled star power

Cruise, however, is the last global star who only makes movies for movie theaters, refusing to venture into streaming or limited series. Instead, his massive-budget films command worldwide interest as he still sets out on sweeping promotional tours.

And he does so with incredible financial leverage. Unlike his present peers in stardom, Cruise earns both an upfront fee for his time and a percentage of gross box office sales the second his films hit theaters.

Others in the industry, even household names, could only dream of that deal, with stars usually receiving an initial salary and bonuses if certain performance benchmarks are hit at the box office.

Reviving the blockbuster glory days 

Hollywood’s cultural influence, and profitability, remain in flux in a post-covid, streaming-defined world. Theatrical film releases from major studios declined roughly 20% since 2019 last year, according to industry analyst David Gross.

Brian Robbins, chief executive of Paramount Pictures, remarked about Top Gun: Maverick that “they just don’t make movies like this anymore.” It was a standout success, though, bringing in nearly $1.5 billion of worldwide box office sales.

Cruise’s magic

Despite offscreen controversies like his connection to Scientology, awkward public interviews, and failed marriages, audiences have stuck with Cruise.

He remains narrowly focused on just making movies and promoting them broadly, normally through controlled public appearances.

The former president of production for Paramount suggested: “There’s nothing else that takes his attention away. He outworks everyone else. He knows every detail.”

He added, “We don’t create movie stars anymore” as studios have reined in marketing and publicity spending in recent years, meaning “there are less and less meaningful names who will help open a movie.”

While the industry is different now, knee-deep into an arms race with streaming, social media, video games, and all other forms of content that dominate our attention, Cruise’s lasting relative success is surely attributable, partly, to his tireless work ethic.

Will Smith affectionately called him a “cyborg” regarding his endurance in film promotion.

Another Paramount executive argued that he’s “of a dying breed that will literally work the world and treat the word as though each region is massively important…it’s a massive undertaking. But it pays off. It’s why he has legions of fans around the world.”

Final word

Sperling writes that in Top Gun: Maverick, there’s a moment where Maverick (Cruise’s character) is told, “The end is inevitable. Your kind is headed to extinction.”

And “still holding on to that brash self-confidence that made him a movie star four decades ago, (Cruise) grins at him and replies, ‘Maybe so, sir. But not today.'”

You could say the exchange serves as a metaphor for the entire blockbuster film industry, and many people in Hollywood hope he’s right.

Whether you like him or not, Cruise’s star power is unrivaled, and he remains the last holdout of a space incurring seismic change.

Tell us, readers — do you think Tom Cruise is the last of Hollywood’s true big stars?

Dive deeper

Check out Sperling’s full piece on Cruise and the evolving movie industry here.