Tom Cruise is used to being the biggest action star around, but that’s no longer the case in 2025. Thanks to his willingness to put his body on the line and risk his life for practical stunts, Cruise has become a shining example of a modern action film lead.

This is nothing new to him, as he’s made a habit of starring in franchises and standalone films that utilize his expertise in this area. He’s seen the fruits of his labor in recent years. Top Gun: Maverick broke box office records. The Mission: Impossible movies reached new heights critically, financially, and with stunts. Even Edge of Tomorrow left an impression.

It’s become somewhat common for Cruise to stand atop the box office when it comes to headlining pure action movies. This has once again been the case for much of 2025 thanks to the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The spectacle-driven, stunt-filled release had a strong box office performance, netting $597 million worldwide.

That’s long been enough to be considered 2025’s biggest action movie. Other movies like Jurᴀssic World Rebirth, Superman, and How To Train Your Dragon may have higher grosses, but they weren’t primarily action movies in this vein. I know I expected Cruise to retain a claim as being the star of the year’s highest-grossing action film.

The Final Reckoning Is No Longer 2025’s Biggest Action Movie Thanks To A Tom Cruise Collaborator

Heading into the year, there was a strong belief that Cruise would prove to be the most marketable action star in Hollywood thanks to The Final Reckoning. Even after ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning‘s box office disappointment, the conclusive event nature of the eighth film was thought to be a reason that the Mission: Impossible franchise would end on a high note.

After Cruise took Jason Statham’s action movie star crown, no clear contender was coming to challenge the throne, with genre vets like Keanu Reeves sitting out the year. That’s why it’s a bit shocking to now see that the Mission: Impossible star has been beaten – and he’s partially responsible for it too.

This past weekend at the box office saw F1: The Movie eclipse The Final Reckoning‘s box office. That makes Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 racing film the highest-grossing action movie of the year. It now sits at $603 million worldwide after having incredible legs internationally.

While the Formula 1 sport is popular, there was no guarantee that the movie would be a mᴀssive hit. Yet, that did seem doable with a box office star like Pitt at the forefront. A big part of the success can also be attributed to director Joseph Kosinski, who previously wowed audiences in theaters with Top Gun: Maverick.

Kosinski is a frequent Cruise collaborator. They started working together in 2013 with Oblivion. Cruise then tapped him to helm the long-gestating Top Gun sequel, and his direction helped deliver one of the greatest summer blockbusters of all time.

That played a key role in F1‘s success, as Apple Studios and Warner Bros. leaned on the director’s involvement in the marketing. That experience also led to Kosinski being able to help the movie pull off realistic racing scenes that evoke a similar sense of awe as Maverick​​​​​​’s flying sequences.

In a way, Cruise’s work with Kosinski on Top Gun: Maverick played a part in him no longer being able to say he’s the king of action movies in 2025. Pitt’s movies harnessed some of the same tricks and became the year’s biggest action movie, on top of being one of the best box office surprises.

F1’s Success & Beating Mission: Impossible Could Benefit Tom Cruise

Losing the 2025 action movie star crown to Pitt surely isn’t what Cruise expected, but being beaten by his former Interview with a Vampire co-star might not be all bad. He actually stands to benefit from the performance in a few ways.

The most immediate positive for Cruise is what this means for Top Gun 3. Kosinski is confirmed to return to direct the sequel, and it seems likely that it will be his next feature, considering Paramount’s new brᴀss views the movie as a priority to make.

There was already plenty of excitement for Top Gun 3 based solely on the performance and reception of Maverick. Yet, questions about whether the threequel will replicate the success critically and financially remained, as did uncertainty about if the heart and action will be as strong.

F1 is further proof that Kosinski has all the tools to deliver summer blockbusters audiences will love and want to see on the biggest screens possible. He’s got a steady history of entertaining viewers, going back to TRON: Legacy, and F1‘s practical driving scenes proved to be thrilling.

This all helps raise the bar for Top Gun 3. There should be a ton of confidence in it with Kosinski at the helm, as there’s no reason to think he’ll have a huge misstep next as he returns to one of Cruise’s biggest franchises.

Additionally, Cruise may wind up with a new sequel of his own thanks to F1‘s success. It’s been confirmed that a Days of Thunder sequel is in early development. The desire to get Cruise back for a racing movie sequel will certainly be much higher in the aftermath of F1.

He might even get to do this with Kosinski and Pitt. The F1 director and star have both expressed interest in having the F1 sequel be a Days of Thunder crossover movie and have Cruise’s Cole Trickle meet up with Pitt’s Sonny Hayes.

That could be tricky to fully pull off with Days of Thunder belonging to Paramount and F1 sitting with Apple and Warner Bros. But that does not mean it’s impossible. Cruise was even out promoting F1 and attending premieres for it, which may aid a potential crossover.

As Tom Cruise continues to chart his future after Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, he will absolutely want to keep proving his worth as an action movie star. F1 and Pitt may have beaten him for now, but the long-term benefits could mean he wins multiple times in the future.