If you are at all interested in movies, you’ve probably heard of Top Gun: Maverick. Based on the money it’s made you’ve probably seen it too. As of this writing, Top Gun: Maverick has made over 700 million dollars domestic and over 1.45 billion worldwide.[1] To put the movie’s success into perspective, Marvel’s Avengers Infinity War had a lower domestic gross.[2] Given this absurd run, it’s almost certain that Paramount would greenlight a sequel.
Before I get into why I think Cruise will be in, let’s run through what a backend deal is. Actors have two ways of getting paid: a large amount of money up front in line with what they are typically paid or through a backend deal. The backend deal grants actors the option to take a smaller amount of money upfront and in exchange secure a percentage of the movie’s total gross (that is, box office revenue minus costs associated with the movie).
Older versions of the deal were classified as “first-dollar-gross” deals. Under this model, actors were guaranteed a percentage regardless of the film’s performance.[3] Newer deals can be classified as “break-even” deals. Under this model, the movie must reach a pre-determined gross before the actor’s percentage back-end kicks in. In exchange, actors can negotiate for a higher percentage return.[4]
For Hollywood’s biggest stars, back-end deals led to big bucks. In the 90s, actors such as Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio earned minimum salaries of $20 million while still securing back-end deals under the first-dollar-gross model. This led to Leo securing $40 million for Titanic and Hanks bringing in $70 million for Forrest Gump.[5]
Tom Cruise is no stranger to back-end deals. He earned $70 million under a first-dollar-gross deal from the original Mission Impossible in 1996.[6] And now, he is CASHING in on Top Gun: Maverick. The biggest difference between the old first-dollar-gross deals and the new break-even deals is the risk inherent in the latter: if the movie doesn’t perform, the actor will be stuck with a lower upfront payment without the bonus percentage of the gross. For Maverick, Cruise took a smaller upfront payment ($13 million…still not bad) in exchange for a break-even deal.[7] With the movie’s massive success, Cruise will reportedly receive AT LEAST $100 million for the movie.[8]
Reports from various insiders and an interview with Miles Teller, who starred alongside Cruise in the movie, suggest that another Top Gun will be made only if Cruise is in.[9] I think that the potential for another monumental paycheck will be quite enticing. Also, I really hope they make another. The movie was an absolute thrill ride, and the filmmaking was just incredible (I highly suggest you read into how the movie was shot, both inside and outside of the planes, if you haven’t already at the links attached to this footnote).[10] So Tom, if you’re reading this, please hop in a plane again!
[1] Top Gun: Maverick, Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro (last accessed Sept. 13, 2022, 02:36 PM), https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2500036097/?ref_=bo_yl_table_1.
[2] Avengers: Infinity War, Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro (last accessed Sept. 13, 2022, 02:39 PM), https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4154756/?ref_=bo_se_r_1.
[3] See Jay A. Fernandez, The Economics of the A-List, The Hollywood Reporter (Nov. 10, 2010, 4:37 PM), https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/economics-list-43532/.
[4] Id.
[5] See Brian Warner, A Brief History of Massive Hollywood Paychecks and Insane Backend Deals, Celebrity Net Worth (Nov. 10, 2019), https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-articles/a-brief-history-of-massive-hollywood-paychecks-and-insane-backend-deals/.
[6] Id.
[7] See Travis Clark, Tom Cruise will reportedly get at least $100 million for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ – one of the biggest paydays for an actor ever, Business Insider (July 21, 2022, 9:32 AM), https://www.businessinsider.com/top-gun-maverick-how-much-tom-cruise-got-paid-salary-2022-7#:~:text=Tom%20Cruise%20is%20set%20to,%24620%20million%20in%20the%20US..
[8] Id.
[9] See Rachel Leishman, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’: Miles Teller Says the Possibility of Another Sequel is “All Up to Tom Cruise”, Collider (July 10, 2022), https://collider.com/top-gun-maverick-miles-teller-tom-cruise-sequel-comments/.
[10] See Rick Neale, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ F-18 dogfighting action scenes filmed by an Embraer business jet, Florida Today (June 12, 2022, 10:25 PM), https://www.floridatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2022/06/12/tom-cruises-top-gun-fighter-jet-aerial-scenes-filmed-florida-built-private-jet/10001306002/. See also Jen Yamato, How ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ made those groundbreaking aerial scenes soar, L.A. Times (June 5, 2022, 12:02 PM), https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-06-05/top-gun-maverick-aerial-cinematography.
