Spielberg tells Cruise Top Gun: Maverick “saved Hollywood’s ass”

Last Updated on February 23, 2023

Top Gun: Maverick proved to be a juggernaut at the box office last year, marking itself as one of the biggest theatrically released movies since the pandemic, yet another sign that people are more than ready to get back to the cinema. And according to the highest-grossing director ever, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise had a hand in saving the moviegoing experience. Hm, wonder what he would tell Spider-Man…

At this week’s luncheon for the Academy Award nominees, Steven Spielberg told Tom Cruise directly, “You saved Hollywood’s ass, and you might have saved theatrical distribution…Seriously, Maverick might have saved the entire theatrical industry.” Cruise is up for producing Best Picture nominee Maverick, while Spielberg is up for three Oscars for The Fablemans: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Spielberg may have a point, although the video does appear to show Cruise a bit reluctant to take too much credit for the compliment. Top Gun: Maverick has grossed $718.3 million domestically, making it the fifth-highest grossing movie on that front. Worldwide, Maverick has pulled in a total of $1.48 billion, although that pesky James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has officially topped it with $2.2 billion.

In addition to Top Gun: Maverick soaring at the box office, it has also expectedly proven to be a streaming smash on Paramount+. Even those who saw it multiple times in theaters surely caught it there, too, although seeing Maverick at the cinema was an experience that is impossible to match at home. No word on if Spielberg whispered anything about that to Cruise.

Spielberg previously directed Cruise in 2002’s Minority Report and 2005’s War of the Worlds, the latter of which was the third highest-grossing movie of its year, behind franchise entries Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Although it’s highly unlikely Cruise will take home any gold on Oscar night, don’t count out Spielberg to win his third Best Director statue.

What do you think of Steven Spielberg’s comments to Tom Cruise that Top Gun: Maverick saved the theatrical industry? Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below!