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Tom Cruise has had his fair share of action films throughout his decorated career. He is best-known for the Mission: Impossible franchise, which released its eighth installment in 2025.
Cruise, however, has portrayed plenty of other characters apart from the iconic American superspy Ethan Hunt. One such action role that stands out is Major William Cage in the 2014 film Edge of Tomorrow, a film based on the Japanese light novel All You Need is a Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.
Directed by Doug Liman, the sci-fi film follows a cowardly officer who dies in combat against an alien race that has invaded Earth. After his death, Cage is resurrected in a time loop where he relives the same battle over and over again.
Cage teams up with an elite soldier, Rita Vrataski (played by Emily Blunt), to hone his skills. Together, they battle the aliens in a desperate attempt to save humanity.
Edge of Tomorrow reportedly grossed $370.5 million worldwide, which is more than double its $178 million budget. However, the film is still widely considered a box office flop once steep marketing costs and initial studio expectations, among others, are factored in.
Cruise and Blunt were bona fide Hollywood A-listers when they created Edge of Tomorrow, and Warner Bros. Pictures expected much more than the $370 million the film raked in.
Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow Named One of the Best Action Films of All Time
Despite the rather modest box office numbers, the film was well received by the critics. As a matter of fact, Rolling Stone included Edge of Tomorrow in its curated list of the "50 Best Action Movies of All Time."
"Doug Liman’s sci-fi spin on Groundhog Day makes for a truly top-notch star vehicle, and introduced the notion of Emily Blunt, Action Hero to an unsuspecting, but extremely grateful public.
"... Once Cruise and Blunt learn how to weaponize this time-loop quirk, we’re then treated to a host of scenarios that combine war movies, spy thrillers, alien-invasion pulp and, well, a Tom Cruise movie," Rolling Stone wrote.
Edge of Tomorrow garnered a score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of Cruise's highest-rated films on the movie review site. The high score places it alongside his most acclaimed movies, including Risky Business (93%), Top Gun: Maverick (96%) and, of course, several of the Mission: Impossible films.
While there were recent rumors about a potential sequel, Collider reported in May that Edge of Tomorrow 2 is not in active production. Warner Bros. reportedly remains interested in making the sequel in the future. "While the project is not officially dead, it's not exactly alive either," Collider wrote.
Related: 8 Years Ago Today: Tom Cruise's Highest-Rated Film Premiered
