Even though Tom Cruise’s Top Gun and Mission: Impossible sequels were box office hits, the charismatic star’s presence wasn’t enough to save one failed franchise. Tom Cruise is an iconic actor whose career has seen him star in a wide variety of projects. From acclaimed dramas like Magnolia to fun blockbusters like Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise has proven his versatility again and again over the decades. A look back on the star’s career shows that he has proven something else throughout his years as a multiplex mainstay. Namely, Cruise has repeatedly displayed his enduring popularity with audiences across the world.

From 1986’s Top Gun to 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise’s blockbuster career has been primarily defined by a slew of successes. The Mission: Impossible franchise and the Jack Reacher movies prove his bonafides as an action star, while Oblivion, Edge of Tomorrow, Minority Report, and War of the Worlds displayed Tom Cruise’s success in the sci-fi genre. The Last Samurai’s success showed that Cruise could pull off a historical drama, while Collateral allowed the actor to show his range in a relatively rare villainous role. All these successes only made one 2017 flop even more inexplicable.

Tom Cruise’s Withstanding Box Office Power Makes The Dark Universe’s Cancelation Even More Curious

Mission: Impossible and Top Gun’s Franchise Success Prove The Dark Universe Was An Anomaly

2017’s The Mummy was a critical disaster and a relative financial failure that ended the highly hyped “Dark Universe” before the franchise could even begin in earnest. The Mummy was a contemporary reboot of the Universal franchise that strayed far from the light, fun one of the Brendan Fraser movies of the ‘90s. Cruise’s take on The Mummy was darker and edgier and was supposed to kick-start a series of movies that re-envisioned the Universal Monsters in modern settings. Although Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekyl/ Mr. Hyde appeared in a cameo, The Mummy’s disappointing reception killed any follow-up plans.

Cruise remains a rare star who can sell a franchise alone.

Since then, Tom Cruise’s historic box office success with Top Gun: Maverick and the solid performance of 2023’s Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One have made it harder than ever to work out how the Dark Universe stumbled. Admittedly, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One made a somewhat underwhelming $567 million on a budget of $291 million. However, this was due in part to the stiff competition provided by “Barbenheimer.” Thanks to Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise remains a rare star who can sell a franchise alone. Thus, it is striking to realize that even he could not save the Dark Universe.

The Mummy Reboot Did Okay At The Box Office (Likely Due To Tom Cruise)

The Dark Universe’s Flagship Project Wasn’t A Complete Financial Catastrophe

While the 2017 movie’s box office performance was bad enough to kill the Dark Universe, The Mummy was not a complete financial catastrophe. Per BoxOfficeMojo, The Mummy earned just under $410 million globally, which is undeniably impressive against a budget of $125 million. However, the movie’s domestic and global split tells a more complicated story, as a whopping $329 million of that total comes from international markets. The Mummy only made $80 million domestically. Considering the same year’s $50 million Cruise movie American Made earned $83 million domestically, it is fair to say the actor’s brand was responsible for most of those ticket sales.

The Mummy proved that Cruise’s appeal has its limits.

In contrast, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One earned $172 million domestically and another $395 million globally for a total of $567 million. While Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One’s box office struggles were substantial, its domestic performance proves that Cruise remains a box office draw. Top Gun: Maverick’s incredible success further affirmed this nationally and internationally, whereas The Mummy proved that Cruise’s appeal has its limits. One major issue may have been the movie’s genre, as Cruise isn’t typically associated with horror movies. His only earlier horror, Interview With A Vampire, was a romantic historical drama, unlike The Mummy.

2018’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout earned over $790 million only one year after The Mummy ‘s disappointing $410 million payday.

Why The Dark Universe Was Canceled After Just One Movie

The Dark Universe’s Messy Planning Made Future Movies Risky

While the Cruise vehicle wasn’t a big hit by any means, The Mummy’s 2017 failure was not the only factor in the Dark Universe’s failure. In an interview with ScreenRant, Limitless director Neil Burger noted that the franchise was being pulled in various directions by various producers and executives with no cohesive vision. Burger, who was once lined up to direct a Bride of Frankenstein reimagining, divulged that there were disagreements over the franchise’s period setting and which characters to utilize.

It wasn’t clear whether all the Dark Universe movies would be set in the modern day or if some would be period pieces.

Some creatives wanted to use all the classic Universal Monsters, while other producers wanted a select few. It wasn’t clear whether all the Dark Universe movies would be set in the modern day or if some would be period pieces, and it was this type of internal division that truly doomed the series. If The Mummy had been a runaway success, these problems might have ironed themselves out in good time. However, the Tom Cruise movie’s failure killed the Dark Universe because the series never had the clear, consistent vision of Top Gun, Mission: Impossible, or the actor’s other successful franchises.