Why Cruise, Pitt Can’t Defy Hollywood Economics

If Tom Cruise is the Last Movie Star, Brad Pitt is a close runner-up.

The veteran actors command fat paychecks, A-list directors and their choice of lead roles. Both are in their early 60s, but age hasn’t dimmed their appeal.

The proof? Their respective summer releases are drawing huge crowds. Yet the industry’s brutal economic picture means their efforts may be in vain.

At least for studio bean counters.

Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” has generated nearly $576 million at global movie theaters. That’s the most since 2018’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” ($786 million), the sixth film in the saga.

Now, compare that to “Final Reckoning’s” budget, which several outlets estimate at $400 million. Films often need to make twice their budget at the box office to break even.

And sometimes more. The math isn’t working for Ethan Hunt and friends.

The same is true for “F1®.” The Pitt Formula 1 vehicle opened to a heady $57 million stateside June 25, the best number for an original film this year. It’s earned an impressive $293 million in total to date, but that figure will keep falling as new Summer releases hit theaters.

The Man of Steel makes his cinematic return on July 11, for starters. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” follows two weeks later (July 25). A blend of kiddie fare (“The Smurfs”) and horror reboots (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) flesh out the month.

Currently, “Jurassic World Rebirth” is sucking up most of the film oxygen – the seventh film in the saga may break the $140 million mark at U.S. theaters alone by Monday.

Director Joseph Kosinski’s race car drama has a budget between $200 million and $300 million, depending on which source you trust. Either way, the numbers can’t be crunched enough to see a profit.

The only hope? The film has “Top Gun: Maverick”-sized legs.

Now, Apple is behind “F1®,” and industry wisdom says the company sees high-profile films to be part of its brand extension. That means Apple brass can allegedly swallow hard at losing money, knowing it’s making a play for the bigger movie pie.

The bottom line remains cold and unflinching. Modern movies cost too much, in general, and even “successful” films struggle to make a profit. Remember how the 2016 flop “Ghostbusters” earned universal mockery? It still made $229 million at the global box office, but its bloated budget doomed its fate.

This problem isn’t new, but it is getting worse.

If Cruise and Pitt can’t drag blockbuster films into the black, what chance do the new kids on the block stand?