For a solid fifteen-year stretch spanning the late 80s to early 2000s, Tom Cruise could do no wrong. He was America’s favorite movie star. His films regularly grossed more than one hundred million dollars, Rosie O’Donnell bragged about him almost daily on her talk show and the world could not get enough of his relationship with Nicole Kidman. Unfortunately, that popularity started going a little bit South by the mid 2000s after he made several high profile remarks about the dangers of prescription drugs, began hard-selling Scientology and jumped on Oprah’s couch.
Earlier this month, his wife, Katie Holmes, slapped him with divorce papers, and rather than feeling sorry for him, a majority of people seem convinced he was responsible for the marriage failing. Even without any allegations of infidelity, mistreatment or abuse, the general public is still siding with Holmes, and that, just like his unfavorable Q scores, are signs of a waning popularity and growing mistrust.
In the last year, Cruise has released two films. The first, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, grossed almost seven hundred million dollars. The second, Rock Of Ages, failed to even make its budget back. For a normal actor, this could likely be chalked up to projects with different appeal levels, but with Cruise, it may be a sign of something larger. Of his last twenty-five films, Rock Of Ages is the only one not to make its budget back. The majority have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled the initial investment.
I think it’s safe to say Cruise has definitely lost some of his appeal, but one thing he hasn’t lost is talent. He’s still every bit as charismatic on screen as he was in Risky Business. If the drama around his personal life dies down, I think he can regain his luster, but other observers aren’t so sure. What do you think? Will Cruise ever be as popular as he once was? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
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