Tom Cruise may have been credited with saving movies with Top Gun: Maverick by none other than Steven Spielberg, but that doesn't mean the movie star is infallible at the box office. Case in point, his 2017 American Made, which did not move the needle when first released. That's changing now, however, as American Made has flown to the top of the Netflix viewing chart among US subscribers.
American Made landed on Netflix on Friday, October 6. It quickly made its way into the top 10 of daily viewed movies on the streaming service before it reached No. 1 on Tuesday, October 10, beating out some new Netflix original movies like Fair Play and Reptile. American Made is also available to stream on Netflix in the UK, but the movie has not had the same viewing surge with UK subscribers.
Based on a true story, American Made sees Tom Cruise play Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s as part of what would become known as the Iran-Contra Affair. The movie also stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jesse Plemmons, Caleb Landry Jones, Lola Kirke, Jayma Mays, Alejandro Edda, Jed Rees and Benito Martinez. The movie was directed by Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, The Bourne Identity).
Despite good reviews — American Made is "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a positive score of 85% — and Cruise in the leading role, the movie did not drum up much success in its initial run, earning just $51.3 million at the US box office. It added $83.5 million at the international box office, bringing its total to $134.8 million, but that is well down the list of Cruise's biggest movies.
Netflix appears to be giving the movie a second life, as subscribers are finding it and, for the most part, enjoying the underrated Tom Cruise movie. Here's a sampling of what they’re saying:
“American Made” (on Netflix) is an entertaining 2017 movie (based on a true story) in which Tom Cruise plays a 1970s/1980s C.I.A. pilot. He’s not a particularly sympathetic character, but Cruise’s charm pulls it off nicely: https://t.co/LvmTsMlcs0October 8, 2023
American made on Netflix is a great movie based on a true storyOctober 11, 2023
Watched American Made last night on Netflix and I'm surprised i haven't seen this movie considering it dropped in 2017. Tom cruise is a 🐐October 11, 2023
American Made is such a good movie on NetflixOctober 11, 2023
American Made on Netflix is the goods. Tom Cruise kills itOctober 7, 2023
American Made on Netflix is a must watch 🔥October 11, 2023
While American Made is by far having the best run among US Netflix subscribers right now, October is unofficially Tom Cruise month on the streaming service, as Netflix added the first four Mission: Impossible movies, his 1993 courtroom drama The Firm and 2005's War of the Worlds to its streaming library.
If you've never seen American Made and want to know what all the fuss is about but don't have a Netflix subscription, the movie is also available to rent via digital on-demand.
