Tom Cruise is a major box office star, thanks in large part to the success of the Mission: Impossible movies, and the action franchise has broken the same box office record multiple times for its star. Cruise began a nearly 30 year run as Ethan Hunt back in 1996 after already establishing himself as a growing box office draw. Top Gun and Rain Man were pivotal films in that regard, as they set records as being Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing movies upon their respective releases in 1986 and 1988.

Tom Cruise currently has Top Gun: Maverick to thank for giving him his highest-grossing film, as it was the first of his projects to make over $1 billion worldwide. This happened even though the Mission: Impossible franchise has consistently performed for the star over the last few decades. As he gears up for what could be his final time playing Ethan Hunt, there are various box office records the spy/action series has broken for Cruise. In fact, some of the best Mission: Impossible movies have broken the biggest of them all repeatedly during his tenure.

A Mission: Impossible Movie Has Been Tom Cruise’s Highest Grossing Film Four Different Times

Mission: Impossible Kept Breaking Its Own Record

Upon the release of 1996’s Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise was able to find a new highest-grossing movie. The spy thriller made $457 million at the box office, topping Cruise’s previous highest mark – Rain Man‘s $412 million. The first installment of the franchise only held on to the record for four years, as Mission: Impossible II‘s box office took its star to new heights in 2000. The John Woo-directed sequel easily surpassed the first film with a final box office gross of $549 million. It kept the record for five years until War of the Worlds beat it.

Movie
Box Office Total
How Long It Was Tom Cruise’s Highest-Grossing Movie

Mission: Impossible (1996)
$457 million
4 years

Mission: Impossible II (2000)
$549 million
5 years

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
$694 million
7 years

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
$791 million
4 years

Mission: Impossible reclaimed the top spot in Tom Cruise’s filmography at the box office with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The 2011 sequel made $694 million worldwide, roughly $90 million more than War of the Worlds made. This record held for seven years until Mission: Impossible – Fallout made a franchise record $791 million at the box office. That made it the fourth Mission: Impossible movie to be Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing film. This means Mission: Impossible movies have achieved this box office record more often than not, which is quite impressive.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Is Unlikely To Break Tom Cruise’s Box Office Record Again

Top Gun: Maverick Is Currently The Record Holder For Tom Cruise

Since Mission: Impossible II beat the record, every other installment in the franchise has done the same for Tom Cruise. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning would be next in line to break its star’s highest-grossing film mark then. The issue for the potentially final Mission: Impossible movie is that it now has Top Gun: Maverick‘s $1.4 billion total to beat. The Final Reckoning would have to make roughly twice as much as the highest-grossing Mission: Impossible movie to do that, and that’s just not something that is expected to happen at this stage.

Even if The Final Reckoning doesn’t beat Top Gun: Maverick for Tom Cruise’s record, the franchise’s history of being Tom Cruise’s top performer will stand. It remains his highest grossing franchise overall and has the box office history to show its importance in turning him into a global star. Mission: Impossible doesn’t need to break the record a fifth time. But if it does somehow, Cruise would go out on top if The Final Reckoning is his Ethan Hunt swan song.