The five movies Tom Cruise claims he actually paid to see in a cinema
Tom Cruise would love you to believe he is “the movies” in human form. He wants people to see him as a living, breathing – and always running – embodiment of everything Hollywood cinema has to offer. For the most part, it’s kind of hard to argue with this. Regardless of the guy’s personal eccentricities and questionable beliefs, this is a man whose relentless enthusiasm for the art of moviemaking has spearheaded major productions for nearly five decades. In addition, this is a man who professes a deep love for watching movies more than just about any other star out there.
Here’s the thing, though: some people aren’t convinced Cruise has ever actually watched a movie in his life. This might sound ridiculous – and it probably is – but let’s play devil’s advocate. In countless interviews throughout his career, Cruise has said some variation on “I love movies.” Hell, he once infamously claimed to Jimmy Fallon that he watches a movie every single day – yet he failed to name a single film that he’d seen recently.
This led some people to jokingly theorise that Cruise doth protest too much with his “love” of movies. You see, that Fallon quote isn’t an isolated incident – the vast majority of times he speaks of loving movies, he doesn’t name any that he’s actually watched. It’s all very positive and affirming and nice – but it could also be construed as vague and evasive.
The history of Cruise’s supposed love of cinema is illuminating, though. He has specifically named movies he’s seen from time to time, after all. For instance, in 1999, he claimed he’d watched every Stanley Kubrick film “many, many times.” He also recalls seeing Lawrence of Arabia and Jaws at drive-ins when he was a kid and claimed he took his first date to see the 1977 sports drama One on One.
We know the guy has at least watched a few movies in his lifetime – but how many has he actually paid to see? How many times can we confirm that Cruise has paid cash money to go to a cinema with an audience and watch a movie as the cinema Gods intended? Well, interestingly, it can only be confirmed that Cruise has paid to see five movies in his lifetime – if his claims are even to be trusted.
And no, I can’t count One on One, because he was 15 years old and he said his mum dropped he and his date to the cinema. There’s every chance she paid for that ticket. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Five movies Tom Cruise paid to see:
‘Spy Game’ (Tony Scott, 2001)
In 2001, Cruise was interviewed by Larry King, who wanted to know if the uber-famous star was still in the habit of standing in line and paying for a movie ticket like the rest of us mere mortals. Cruise responded, “Yes, I do,” to which a disbelieving King spluttered, “Come on.” A lightly amused Cruise then did something he rarely does: he mentioned a movie by name.
“Sure,” Cruise began. “I went and saw Spy Game the other night.” Once again, King pushed back against the insane concept of Cruise paying for a ticket among a throng of regular folks. “In line?” King asked. “Got in line, paid for the ticket and walked in?” A smiling Cruise answered, “Of course, I did.”
Did Cruise really go to see this Robert Redford/Brad Pitt spy thriller like any average Joe? I suppose it’s possible. Maybe he wanted to support his Top Gun director Tony Scott or his old Interview with a Vampire co-star Pitt – although it was always rumoured Pitt hated his guts on that movie. Hmmm.
‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ (Christopher Columbus, 2001)
In that same interview with King, the legendary talk show host had an interesting follow-up question for Cruise. “Take the kids to see Harry Potter?” he asked, referring to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first instalment in the soon-to-be lucrative wizarding world franchise. Cruise replied, “Yes, I did. Took the kids to see Harry Potter.”
Once again, though, Cruise could probably sense that the idea of him just chilling among a crowded theatre full of families and people who would almost certainly realise “Hey, that’s freakin’ Tom Cruise over there!” was blowing King’s mind. So, he smiled and assured the host, “People come up and say hello, and they’re very nice. But I don’t have a problem with that.”
As for what Cruise thought of Potter? Well, I have no idea. Aside from Legend, Cruise hasn’t really shown much interest in fantasy in his own movies, so maybe this was purely one for the kiddies. Or maybe he’s a card-carrying Potter superfan? What do I know? I’m not the guy’s keeper.
‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (James Mangold, 2023)
Fast-forward to 2020, and Cruise made a big song and dance out of going to the cinema to see an enormous blockbuster. This was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when cinemas all over the globe had been suffering from having to close their doors. Christopher Nolan was convinced he could save Hollywood by releasing Tenet theatrically, though, and even though it did make a very healthy $365 million worldwide, it was still deemed a bit of a disaster.
Cruise filmed a social media video of him going to a not-so-socially distanced screening of Nolan’s backwards spy epic in London. When the movie ended, an audience member asked if he liked it, and he enthusiastically replied, “I loved it.” However, I can’t technically include it on this list because the video cuts from Cruise outside the cinema to inside the screening, meaning it is impossible to confirm if he paid for a ticket.
The next movie that Cruise definitely paid to see – if his Instagram is to be trusted – was Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in June 2023. In fact, it was the first of three movies he bought tickets for that summer, posting pictures of him and Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie standing in front of their respective posters.
‘Oppenheimer’ (Christopher Nolan, 2023)
“This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theatres,” Cruise wrote in that Instagram post. “These are just a few that we can’t wait to see on the big screen.” After praising Harrison Ford for “creating one of the most iconic characters in cinema history,” he revealed that he and McQuarrie had also bought a ticket for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Perhaps Cruise is a fan of Nolan’s work – he did risk his life during a global plague to see Tenet, after all. Or maybe he just wanted to support the kind of movie that was guaranteed to put a lot of butts on cinema seats, which is good for everyone in the movie business.
Either way, Cruise confirmed that he planned to see Oppenheimer on the Friday that it opened, followed by another brand-spanking new release the following day. If you weren’t living with your head in the sand in summer 2023, I’m sure you can probably guess what that movie was.
‘Barbie’ (Greta Gerwig, 2023)
That’s right! The final movie that it can be confirmed Cruise paid to see is Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. ‘Barbenheimer’ was an absolute phenomenon that summer, as the two wildly contrasting movies released on the same day. It wound up becoming a true cinematic event, even hampering the box office chances of Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, which came out a few weeks prior.
While that probably rankled Cruise – as did the fact Oppenheimer was allocated so many of the IMAX seats he’d been hoping Mission: Impossible would have a clearer run at – he still put on a brave face. Gerwig and Robbie returned the favour to Cruise, too, as they were pictured with their own tickets to Oppenheimer, Indiana Jones, and Mission: Impossible.
All in all, while it all may have been a slightly cringeworthy publicity stunt, it’s not hard to believe that Cruise simply wants to safeguard the survival of the theatrical movie business, and he’ll do whatever it takes to facilitate that. As he told the Sydney Morning Herald, “I grew up seeing movies on the big screen. That’s how I make them, and I like that experience; it’s immersive, and to have that as a community and an industry, it’s important.”
