Tom Cruise often says his movies are made for the fans and are meant to be seen on the big screen. Apparently, he’s one of those fans. Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival where Top Gun: Maverick is screening, Cruise revealed that he frequents multiplexes to watch the latest movies.
Top Gun: Maverick was included as a special screening at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, taking place between May 17-28. During a talk about his career at the festival, Cruise revealed that he sometimes goes to the movies in secret "with my cap on" and sits "in the audience with everyone." So who knows, maybe we should all be keeping an eye out for Tom Cruise when we get our tickets for Top Gun: Maverick.
Releasing worldwide on May 27 (with an early screening in the US on May 24 and a UK release on May 25), Top Gun: Maverick is one of the most anticipated 2022 summer blockbusters. The movie picks up 30 years after the events of 1986’s Top Gun and finds Cruise’s Maverick returning to the flight school to teach a new group of pilots, where he will be forced to come face to face with his past.
Early word is strong for the movie, with it scoring a 97% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes (as of May 18). What to Watch’s review praised it as a "stratospheric sequel" that pleases both fans of the original and a new generation getting introduced to the "Danger Zone."
That doesn’t mean it has been smooth sailing for Top Gun: Maverick. The movie was originally planned to release in the summer of 2020 until the pandemic threw that into a loop. A couple of more delays occurred before things finally settled on the May 27, 2022, release date. But was there ever any thought of doing what so many other movies did over the last couple of years and either premiere Top Gun: Maverick on a streaming service like Paramount Plus or some kind of hybrid release? Not according to Cruise.
Again speaking to the crowd at Cannes, Cruise said, "That’s not going to happen. Ever."
"I’ve spent a lot of time with theater owners," added Cruise. "The people that serve the popcorn, the ones that make this [happen]."
Explaining what he told theater owners that were struggling during the pandemic, Cruise said: "Please, I know what you’re going through. Just know we are making Mission: Impossible and Top Gun is coming out," referring to the in-production Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning slated to be released in 2023.
So Cruise is fully backing movie theaters even as streaming continues to cement its place with viewers. One reason it seems is because he enjoys going to the movies as much as he does making them.
