Mission: Impossible III earned the top box office spot this weekend, grossing an estimated $48 million. So how is this a box office failure? Considering that M:I III was made for $135 million and was expected to earn over $60 million, the first summer blockbuster of the season was a box office miss.
This has caused critics and ordinary people like myself to ask the a very big question. Have the Adventures of TomKat caused the collapse of Hollywood’s biggest star?
Public persona has always played an important role in determining a movie’s success. In the late 1930’s Katharine Hepburn was labeled “box-office poison” which practically destroyed her career. For today’s Hollywood, public persona, often reflected through the lens of the paparazzi camera, has become many celebrities cushion or death sentence. (Think Paris Hilton versus Tara Reid).
In Tom Cruise’s case it probably did not help that he shared his ridiculous theories about religion and psychiatry while throwing in carefully executed moments of PDA.
I think if his career has been affected by his behavior, then it’s his own fault. And maybe it just hasn’t occurred to critics and the media that their are some people who do not want to see a Tom Cruise movie, when all they have to do it open the latest issue of People.
That’s my opinion. Here’s an New York Times article discussing it. Feel free to weigh in.
@Cinefille 
I think it’s your classic case of over exposure. TomKat is EVERYWHERE ad nauseum; in every publication, on all the news programs (and HOW can TomKat be justified as news) and people are just tired of TomKat in general. Add to that his in your face histronics against Matt Lauer & Brooke Shields, people whom most American’s admire and his incessesant Scientology rants, his decision NOT to baptize his daughter and is it any wonder MI 3 came in well below expectations?
One thing I thought of when this story hit was how I am sick of Tom Cruise…It was hard for me to even watch war of the worlds with out thinking “There’s tom cruise, they guy that’s in the news all the stinkin’ time”
so m:i-iii seems like something to wait on for me…plus, i’m not a big fan of the franchise.
also…i think that people are becoming more leary about spending 8 bucks on a movie ticket and waiting to hear if it gets some attention from their peers.
just shy of fifty mil is a lot.
–RC of strangeculture.blogspot.com
Just a brief comment. I saw Mission Impossible III and loved it. It had a great story, reasonable (read believable) special effects and stunts and was simply a lot better than either of the first two movies. I was surprised that the box office was only 48m, but expect that as word gets around, the second and thrird weeks should hold up well. Considering some of the terrible movies that have been released, especially remakes, I was quite pleased with this movie. I will see it again, and highly recommend it to others, as should you all. Good movies should acknowledged and rewarded.
I am SOO sick of tom cruise. He is an ugly mess and a disgrace to the human race. I am glad his so-called summer blockbuster failed. I think all his movies will from here on… He isn’t that great of an actor to begin with.. He ALWAYS plays the same character. An arrogant “ladies man” who saves the day. It’s ridiculous. Good riddance Tom Cruise.