Tom Cruise movies span more than four decades, from a small part in Endless Love (1981) to the stunt-driven spectacle of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) and the upcoming Digger (2026). Whether you want the best Tom Cruise movies to watch tonight, every film in release order, or a clear starting point for the Mission: Impossible series, this guide covers it all in one place.

Tom Cruise is one of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood history. His films have earned billions of dollars worldwide, and he has been nominated for three acting Academy Awards and won three Golden Globes. According to his Wikipedia profile and the complete filmography page, his career moves between serious drama, sci-fi, comedy and big-budget action, which is exactly why “Tom Cruise movies” remains a search people come back to every year.

What Are the Best Tom Cruise Movies?

The best Tom Cruise movies are Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Jerry Maguire (1996), Rain Man (1988), Collateral (2004), Minority Report (2002), A Few Good Men (1992), Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Risky Business (1983).

If you only have time for one, start with Top Gun: Maverick. It works as a standalone film, earned nearly $1.5 billion worldwide and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Tom Cruise at a Glance

You can cross-check his full credit list on IMDb, his critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes and his box office numbers on Box Office Mojo.

Top 10 Best Tom Cruise Movies Ranked

Ranking a career this long is subjective, so this list balances critical reception, audience love, rewatch value and cultural impact.

1. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel almost nobody expected to be this good. Real fighter jets, real G-forces and an emotional story about legacy made it the biggest hit of Cruise’s career. It brought audiences back to theaters after the pandemic and proved that practical filmmaking still wins.

2. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Many critics and fans call Fallout the best action film of its decade. A HALO jump, a Paris motorbike chase and a helicopter finale directed by Christopher McQuarrie make it the high point of the franchise.

3. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow is a sci-fi time-loop thriller based on the Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill. Cruise plays a cowardly officer forced to relive the same battle again and again. It is clever, funny and endlessly rewatchable, and many fans still call it the most underrated film of his career.

4. Jerry Maguire (1996)

Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire gave Cruise a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. It is a sports agent drama, a romance and a comedy in one, and it gave pop culture some of its most repeated movie lines.

5. Rain Man (1988)

In Rain Man, Cruise plays Charlie Babbitt opposite Dustin Hoffman. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Cruise’s performance as the selfish brother who slowly changes is the emotional core of the story.

6. Collateral (2004)

Michael Mann’s Collateral cast Cruise against type as Vincent, a cold contract killer. The night-time Los Angeles atmosphere and the two-hander with Jamie Foxx make it one of the best thrillers of the 2000s.

7. Minority Report (2002)

Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report adapts a story by Philip K. Dick about a police unit that arrests people before they commit crimes. Its ideas about surveillance and free will feel more relevant every year.

8. A Few Good Men (1992)

A Few Good Men is a courtroom drama with Cruise as a young Navy lawyer facing Jack Nicholson’s unforgettable Colonel Jessup. It was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

9. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July is Cruise’s most serious dramatic performance. He plays Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, and the role earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars and a Golden Globe.

10. Risky Business (1983)

Risky Business made Cruise a star. The now-famous living room dance scene in sunglasses and a pink shirt became one of the most recognisable images in movie history.

Honorable mentions: Top Gun (1986), The Last Samurai (2003), Magnolia (1999), Tropic Thunder (2008) and Oblivion (2013).

Tom Cruise Movies in Order (Full List)

Here is the complete list of Tom Cruise movies in order of release, grouped by decade so it is easy to scan. For the official and most detailed credit list, see IMDb’s Tom Cruise page.

1980s: The Rise of a Star

Across the 1980s, Cruise went from a teenage supporting actor to the face of Hollywood. Top Gun defined the decade’s blockbuster style, while The Color of Money and Rain Man showed he could hold his own next to Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman.

1990s: Superstar Era

The 1990s are arguably the peak of his star power. He moved easily between legal thrillers, gothic horror, an action franchise and two auteur films, Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia, in the same year.

2000s: Reinvention and Risk

This decade showed how willing Cruise was to take risks. He worked with Spielberg twice, played a villain for Michael Mann, and stole Tropic Thunder in a heavily disguised comedy cameo.

2010s: Action Dominance

2020s: Legacy and Spectacle

Mission: Impossible Movies in Order

The Mission: Impossible series is the longest-running franchise of Cruise’s career and the one most people search for alongside “Tom Cruise movies.” The films follow IMF agent Ethan Hunt and are best watched in release order, because later films refer back to earlier events. You can read about the whole series on the Mission: Impossible (franchise) Wikipedia page.

1. Mission: Impossible (1996), directed by Brian De Palma, a spy thriller with the famous ceiling-drop scene.
2. Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), directed by John Woo, a stylish action sequel.
3. Mission: Impossible III (2006), directed by J.J. Abrams, which adds a personal, emotional story for Ethan.
4. Ghost Protocol (2011), directed by Brad Bird, including the Burj Khalifa climb in Dubai.
5. Rogue Nation (2015), directed by Christopher McQuarrie, with the airplane door stunt.
6. Fallout (2018), directed by Christopher McQuarrie, often ranked the best in the series.
7. Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), directed by Christopher McQuarrie, which introduces “The Entity,” an AI antagonist.
8. The Final Reckoning (2025), directed by Christopher McQuarrie, which concludes the story.

Best starting point for new viewers: Start with the first film, or jump to Ghost Protocol if you want modern action straight away.

Best Tom Cruise Movies by Genre

Best Tom Cruise Action Movies

• Mission: Impossible – Fallout
• Top Gun: Maverick
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• Jack Reacher
• Edge of Tomorrow

Best Tom Cruise Drama Movies

• Born on the Fourth of July
• Rain Man
• A Few Good Men
• Jerry Maguire
• The Last Samurai

Best Tom Cruise Sci-Fi Movies

• Minority Report
• Edge of Tomorrow
• Oblivion
• War of the Worlds
• Vanilla Sky

Best Tom Cruise Comedy Movies

• Tropic Thunder
• Risky Business
• Knight and Day
• Cocktail
• Jerry Maguire

Best Tom Cruise Thrillers

• Collateral
• The Firm
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• American Made
• Eyes Wide Shut

Looking for something similar after you finish these? Browse the best action movies on IMDb’s Top 250 or explore Rotten Tomatoes’ best action movies list.

Tom Cruise Awards and Nominations

Tom Cruise is known more for crowd-pleasing films than for trophies, but his recognition from major bodies is strong.

• Academy Awards: Three acting nominations: Best Actor for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, and Best Supporting Actor for Magnolia. He was also a producer on the Best Picture-nominated Top Gun: Maverick. In November 2025, he received an Honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards. Full history is available on the official Oscars website and the Academy Awards Database.
• Golden Globes: Three wins for his performances in Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia. See the Golden Globes website for more.
• Cannes Film Festival: Top Gun: Maverick had a special out-of-competition screening in 2022, and Cruise was honored with a career Palme d’Or appearance celebration. Read more on the Cannes Film Festival site.
• Audience and industry honors: The People’s Choice Awards and MTV Movie & TV Awards have recognized him many times, including for his action roles.

Tom Cruise Box Office Success

Tom Cruise’s movies have grossed billions at the worldwide box office, and he has had major hits in almost every decade since the 1980s. You can view the most accurate, up-to-date figures on Box Office Mojo, The Numbers and Box Office Mojo’s worldwide rankings.

His biggest hits (approximate worldwide gross):

Figures are rounded and may change slightly by source. Always check the latest numbers on Box Office Mojo.

Top Gun: Maverick is the clear champion. It is the highest-grossing film of Cruise’s career and was one of the biggest movies of the 2020s, a rare case of a legacy sequel beating the original in both quality and sales.

Why Tom Cruise Does His Own Stunts

One reason people keep searching for Tom Cruise movies is the stunt work. Cruise is famous for performing many of his own dangerous stunts, and his production team often shows the behind-the-scenes process in official featurettes on the Paramount Pictures website and the Mission: Impossible YouTube channel.

Famous Tom Cruise stunts:

• Burj Khalifa climb in Ghost Protocol, filmed on the world’s tallest building. Learn more about the building at the official Burj Khalifa site.
• Airbus A400M takeoff in Rogue Nation, where he hung from the outside of a real aircraft.
• HALO jump in Fallout, a high-altitude, low-opening skydive that required extensive training.
• Motorbike cliff jump in Dead Reckoning Part One, one of the most talked-about stunts of recent years.
• Real fighter jet flying preparation for Top Gun: Maverick, where actors trained for months to handle the aircraft’s G-forces.

This commitment to practical filmmaking is a big part of the brand. Audiences trust that what they see in a Tom Cruise action film is real, and that trust is hard to fake with CGI. To learn how the profession works, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) publishes safety guidelines for stunt performers.

Tom Cruise New and Upcoming Movies

Digger (2026)

Digger is Cruise’s next release, and it arrives in theaters on October 2, 2026. It is directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the filmmaker behind Birdman and The Revenant, and is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The studio describes it as “a comedy of catastrophic proportions,” and the story follows a powerful man trying to prove he is humanity’s savior before a disaster he caused destroys everything. The ensemble cast includes Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde and Emma D’Arcy.

It is a big change of pace: a dark comedy from an Oscar-winning auteur, and the first film from Cruise’s development deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. You can follow official news on Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.

What Comes After?

Cruise has a long record of announcing projects early and then delivering them, so expect more news in the coming months. The best way to stay updated is to follow reliable entertainment outlets like Empire, Collider and IGN Movies.

Where to Watch Tom Cruise Movies

Streaming rights change often by country and month, so the most reliable way to find where a specific film is available is to use a live tracker like JustWatch. You can also check:

• Paramount+ for many Paramount titles, including several Mission: Impossible and Top Gun films
• Netflix for rotating catalogue titles
• Amazon Prime Video for rentals and purchases
• Apple TV for rentals and purchases
• Max for Warner Bros. titles such as Edge of Tomorrow

Tip: For the best quality, choose 4K versions of the action films. Stunts like the Burj Khalifa climb and the HALO jump look dramatically better on a large screen.

Which Tom Cruise Movie Should You Watch First?

Not sure where to start? Use this quick guide.

FAQs About Tom Cruise Movies

What is the best Tom Cruise movie of all time?

Most critics and audiences point to Top Gun: Maverick (2022) or Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) as his best. For dramatic acting, Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire are the usual picks.

How many movies has Tom Cruise made?

Tom Cruise has appeared in more than 40 feature films since his debut in Endless Love in 1981. The exact number depends on whether you count cameos and small roles, so always check IMDb for the current count.

What is Tom Cruise’s first movie?

His first film was Endless Love (1981), in which he had a small role. His first lead role was Risky Business (1983).

What is Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing movie?

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) is his highest-grossing film, earning nearly $1.5 billion worldwide according to Box Office Mojo.

Has Tom Cruise won an Oscar?

He has received three acting nominations (for Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire and Magnolia) without a competitive win, but he received an Honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards in November 2025. Top Gun: Maverick, which he produced, was also nominated for Best Picture. See the Oscars website for official records.

What is Tom Cruise’s new movie?

His newest film is Digger, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and released by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 2, 2026.

What order should I watch the Mission: Impossible movies in?

Watch them in release order: Mission: Impossible (1996), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Ghost Protocol (2011), Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) and The Final Reckoning (2025).

Do I need to watch Top Gun before Top Gun: Maverick?

It helps, because the sequel is full of callbacks, but Top Gun: Maverick also works as a standalone film. If you have time, watch the original 1986 Top Gun first.

Does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts?

Yes, he performs many of his own stunts, including the Burj Khalifa climb, the airplane door stunt and the motorbike cliff jump. Safety teams and months of training support every major stunt.

What are the best Tom Cruise movies on streaming?

Availability changes by country and month. Use JustWatch to see where each film is streaming in your region right now.

What are the best Tom Cruise movies for beginners?

Start with Top Gun: Maverick, Edge of Tomorrow or Jerry Maguire. Each is easy to enjoy without any background knowledge.

Tom Cruise movies offer something for almost every type of viewer: heart-racing action, sharp sci-fi, romance, courtroom drama and even comedy. If you want a fast recommendation, here it is:

• Best overall: Top Gun: Maverick
• Best action: Mission: Impossible – Fallout
• Most underrated: Edge of Tomorrow
• Best drama: Born on the Fourth of July
• Best to rewatch: Jerry Maguire

With Digger arriving on October 2, 2026, there has never been a better time to explore his full filmography. Bookmark this page, because it will be updated with new releases, rankings and streaming information.

Did we miss your favorite Tom Cruise movie? Share it in the comments below!