Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
05-14-23 | 11:13 PM
#1
Thread Starter
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Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
Has everyone in the media and elsewhere online completely forgotten, or wants to pretend they’ve forgotten, that Spider-Man: No Way Home was an actual film that was made and released to the public? 🤔
No Way Home was released at the tail-end of 2021, December 17, when there were still mask mandates in several counties in a few states still. Time-wise more towards the time when the pandemic was still hitting some of us hard.
Top Gun: Maverick was released May 27, 2022. When for most we had already and finally moved past that shitstorm and businesses more or less had settled back into some sort of semblance of normalcy.
Which of the two films made more, both domestically, internationally and overall?? That’s right. So why does Tom Cruise get the glory? The moniker that he is the sole figure that “saved movie theatres” when the Marvel movie, released more towards the heart of when the pandemic was truly hitting, beat his?
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No Way Home was released at the tail-end of 2021, December 17, when there were still mask mandates in several counties in a few states still. Time-wise more towards the time when the pandemic was still hitting some of us hard.
Top Gun: Maverick was released May 27, 2022. When for most we had already and finally moved past that shitstorm and businesses more or less had settled back into some sort of semblance of normalcy.
Which of the two films made more, both domestically, internationally and overall?? That’s right. So why does Tom Cruise get the glory? The moniker that he is the sole figure that “saved movie theatres” when the Marvel movie, released more towards the heart of when the pandemic was truly hitting, beat his?
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05-14-23 | 11:18 PM
#2
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
Who fucking cares.
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csant (05-15-23)
05-14-23 | 11:18 PM
#3
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
We did this already.
05-14-23 | 11:20 PM
#4
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
It's basically the media doing what the media does best. Overblow something just for clicks and ad revenue. It was something that Steven Spielberg said directly to Tom Cruise. He wasn't talking to anyone else. Just a semiprivate conversation about the movie industry. Of course it's between two giants of the industry to everyone jumps on it like it's the gospel truth.
05-14-23 | 11:20 PM
#5
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
There was a very specific narrative surrounding Maverick. The studio tried multiple times during the pandemic to release it to streaming. Cruise held his ground and refused to let that happen. He bet on himself and the studio ended up winning.
Maverick also represents a slightly different kind of movie than those others you mention. Yes it is a big budget franchise sequel, but it's much more of a traditional 4 quadrant blockbuster. It reached a portion of the audience that doesn't go see Spider-Man and probably doesn't go to the theater much at all these days. That's why Maverick was so important.
Maverick also represents a slightly different kind of movie than those others you mention. Yes it is a big budget franchise sequel, but it's much more of a traditional 4 quadrant blockbuster. It reached a portion of the audience that doesn't go see Spider-Man and probably doesn't go to the theater much at all these days. That's why Maverick was so important.
Yes, older people went out and saw this one. I am still somewhat perplexed by this narrative that this film “saved movie theaters”. Spider-Man: No Way Home was released more towards the HEIGHT of the “pandemic”. There were still mask mandates in places, some theater chains were still not allowing the purchase of reserved seats next to one another, etc. And SM:NWH still made more money than Top Gun. 🤔
Because no one ever questioned whether or not teenagers and the nerd brigade would go to the theater and support Spider-Man. That movie was never going to play anywhere other than a theater. To paraphrase Thanos, "it was inevitable."
Paramount, on the other hand, tried to send Maverick to streaming. They never expected that the movie would convince a demographic that stopped going to the movies even before the pandemic, to go to a theater. It's evidence that Hollywood can still successfully profit off of that segment of the audience.
While Spider-Man was probably just what struggling theaters needed in that moment coming out of the pandemic, Maverick may ultimately have a larger impact on the industry going forward. Or maybe it was just Spielberg saying something nice to Tom Cruise in a candid moment at an awards show.
Paramount, on the other hand, tried to send Maverick to streaming. They never expected that the movie would convince a demographic that stopped going to the movies even before the pandemic, to go to a theater. It's evidence that Hollywood can still successfully profit off of that segment of the audience.
While Spider-Man was probably just what struggling theaters needed in that moment coming out of the pandemic, Maverick may ultimately have a larger impact on the industry going forward. Or maybe it was just Spielberg saying something nice to Tom Cruise in a candid moment at an awards show.
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Sketchsketchy (05-17-23)
05-14-23 | 11:43 PM
#6
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Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
05-15-23 | 01:15 AM
#7
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
It's basically the media doing what the media does best. Overblow something just for clicks and ad revenue. It was something that Steven Spielberg said directly to Tom Cruise. He wasn't talking to anyone else. Just a semiprivate conversation about the movie industry. Of course it's between two giants of the industry to everyone jumps on it like it's the gospel truth.
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story (05-15-23)
05-15-23 | 07:56 AM
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
Yeah, Tobey Maguire is really getting the short end of the stick on this one.
05-15-23 | 08:09 AM
#9
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
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05-15-23 | 08:26 PM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
I think what it boils down to is No Way home did well, but it did so by playing to the demographic that was already returning to movie theaters. Maverick was the one that finally pulled the older demographic out of the woodwork.
05-15-23 | 09:42 PM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
So I can blame Cruise for prolonging the life of movie theatres?
Die already... streaming for the win !
Die already... streaming for the win !
05-15-23 | 09:43 PM
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
Top Gun Maverick might be the last movie that probably gets the older demo out.
It looks like the 2023 Marvel movies are not bringing in the huge numbers as they did in the past.
It looks like the 2023 Marvel movies are not bringing in the huge numbers as they did in the past.
05-15-23 | 10:11 PM
#13
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
I don't think it was so much the financial aspect. It was more about reminding people of the immersive aspects of seeing a movie in theaters vs at home. Maverick was a visceral experience of real stunts and fantastic imagery. It was a real thrill to see on the big screen. While Spider Man was just another in a long line of CGI superhero schlock that people seem to eat up for some reason.
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Sketchsketchy (05-17-23)
05-16-23 | 01:42 AM
#14
DVD Talk God
Re: Why has everyone agreed to anoint Tom Cruise as being “The Savior of Movie Theatres”?
So Mario and Luigi were the savior of theaters for kids? 
Billion dollar animated movie.
Billion dollar animated movie.
