Tom Cruise is riding high after Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning exploded into theaters with a $200 million global debut. Paired with Disney’s Lilo & Stitch pulling in a massive $341 million, the 2025 Memorial Day weekend officially became the biggest box office weekend in history.
Cruise took to Instagram to share a heartfelt message of gratitude—not just to fans, but to everyone involved in making and showing movies. The actor personally penned a note thanking filmmakers, crews, studio partners, theater workers, and most of all, the people who show up to watch.
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“This weekend was one for the history books!” Cruise wrote. “Congratulations and thank you to every filmmaker, every artist, every crew member, and every single person who works at the studios. To every theater and every employee who helps bring these stories to audiences, thank you. To every one that works at Paramount Pictures and Skydance, thank you for your many years of partnership and unwavering support. And most of all, THANK YOU to audiences everywhere—for whom we all serve and for whom we all LOVE to entertain. Sincerely, Tom”
The eighth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise is already breaking records. According to Variety, the film brought in $63 million domestically over the three-day weekend and an estimated $77 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame, making it the biggest opening in franchise history.
Screen Capture from MI: Dead Reckoning
But while the opening numbers are strong, the road to profitability is long. The Final Reckoning reportedly cost nearly $400 million to produce—one of the highest budgets in cinematic history. Much of that ballooned cost came during the lockdown era, when delays, reshoots, and safety protocols drove up expenses across the board. That means the film will need to soar well beyond $800 million globally just to break even, let alone turn a profit.
Cruise, for his part, has been relentless in his global promotion of the film, appearing at events around the world including the Cannes Film Festival, where The Final Reckoning earned a 7½-minute standing ovation. Despite speculation that this could be his final turn as Ethan Hunt, Cruise played coy when asked by Variety.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
“I’d rather just people see it and enjoy, and we’ve had an amazing time doing it and it’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “I just want you all to enjoy it. Enjoy this and know everything is the culmination… it has come to this moment right now.”
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie and co-written with Erik Jendresen, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning stars Cruise alongside Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett.
Tom Cruise as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder – YouTube, The Nostalgia Zone
With box office records shattered and Cruise’s humble thanks resonating with moviegoers, many are once again calling him the “last real movie star.” But whether the franchise’s biggest mission yet can become its most profitable remains to be seen.
Do you think Tom Cruise can turn a profit on what could be his last Mission: Impossible? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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