Tom Cruisehas had a lot of box-office hits, but one of the actor’s most impressive box-office feats was also one of his few career failures. Although Tom Cruise got his start acting in a variety of critically acclaimed films from well-known directors, the actor has spent the last few decades sticking to well-known franchises and big-budget action movies, with recent projects likeEdge of Tomorrow,Jack Reacher, and theMission: Impossiblefranchisegiving him his modern reputation. Tom Cruise once tried to add another major action franchise to this list, with it being one of his biggest failures.
Over the past few years,Tom Cruise has become certified box office gold, with it having been a long time since he had a massive failure.Top Gun: Maverickis one of the biggest box office hits in recent memory, with some saying that it saved the box office after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Meanwhile, the previous twoMission: Impossiblefilms have been considered to be some of the best action movies of all time, and they have Tom Cruise to thank for that. However, these recent successes have made many forget about Tom Cruise’s biggest franchise failure from 2017.
The Mummy Did Fine At The Box Office (But The Dark Universe Still Failed)
The Mummy Was The Only Film In The Franchise
Although Tom Crusie has had a lot of hits throughout his career, one recent film is notable for being an exception to this rule: 2017’sThe Mummy. The new take on the classic Universal monster movie saw Tom Cruise take up the role of the protagonist in an all-newMummyadventure, setting the stage for the actor to play a big part in a much larger franchise. There were plans for all kinds of sequels and spinoffs afterThe Mummy, with the 2017 film being the first planned entry inUniversal’s Dark Universe franchise. However,The Mummywasn’t exactly what it needed to be.
Upon getting released,reviews for 2017’sThe Mummywere incredibly negative, with the film currently sitting at 15% onRotten Tomatoes. Critics claimed that the movie was hard to follow, derivative, and full of forced set-ups for future Dark Universe movies, with some even saying that it was one of the worst films of the year. Despite its negative reception,The Mummysurprisingly managed to be a box office hit. The film made $410 million on a budget of around $125-$195 million, meaning that it was probably profitable, something that many didn’t expect after the harsh critical reception.
Tom Cruise’s The Mummy Failure: 8 Reasons Why Dark Universe Failed Before It Began
Despite Tom Cruise taking the lead role, 2017’s The Mummy was a failure that stopped the Dark Universe from progressing, but why did it flop?
While reviews were bad, the financial success ofThe Mummymade it seem like plans for the Dark Universe would continue. Plans had already been announced for characters like theBride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the last of whom appeared inThe Mummyplayed by Russell Crowe. However, Universal announced in 2019 that it would be moving away from the shared universe, with it instead working on stand-alone monster movies like 2020’sThe Invisible Man, 2024’sUniversal, and 2025’sWolf Man.
The Mummy’s Solid Box Office Despite The Reviews Confirmed Cruise’s Star Power
It Proves How Powerful Tom Cruise Is
Most movies that were received as poorly asThe Mummywould be doomed to box office failure, but the 2017 film actually managed to break this trend.The Mummyfranchise wasn’t a guaranteed box office hit at the time,with the unexpected success of the film most likely being due to Tom Crusie. Tom Cruise’s role inThe Mummywas the most heavily advertised part of the movie, with the film being a star vehicle for him. The Dark Universe was setting Tom Cruise up to be one of its main characters, with this having a big role inThe Mummy’s success.
The Mummy 2017 Ending Explained
The ending of Tom Cruise’s 2017 The Mummy was supposed to kick off Universal’s Dark Universe of monster movies before it bombed at the box office.
The financial success ofThe Mummyonly proves that Tom Cruise has major star power.The Mummyproved that audiences will show up for Cruise in an action movie despite poor reviews, with the lack ofTom Cruise in other Dark Universe filmspotentially being one of the reasons that Universal wasn’t confident enough to continue the franchise. Even for a bad film likeThe Mummy,Tom Cruiseturned it into a hit, with good movies that star the actor likeTop Gun: Mavericklater showing the full potential of the actor’s incredible star power.
The Mummy
Cast
Directed by Alex Kurtzman and starring Tom Cruise, The Mummy is a 2017 reboot of the cult classic Mummy franchise that originally starred Brenden Frasier. This time, the plot follows a U.S. Army Sergeant as he attempts to stop the mummy of Princess Ahmanet from summoning the Egyptian diety Set.
