All 45 Tom Cruise Movies in Order
Tom Cruise is one of the most famous and successful actors in the world. He is known for his action movies and for his roles in popular films like Top Gun and Mission: Impossible franchise. His career is also filled with many movies of various genres and some of the movies he acted in are considered to be one of the movie industry’s finest. In this article, you can find Tom Cruise movies in order and find out how many are there.
How many Tom Cruise movies are there?
So, there are 45 Tom Cruise movies in total for now. His career is filled with movies of all kinds of genres. However, it is fair to say that he is most popular for his action-packed movies. In the future, we will see him in more of them for sure as some of them are already in development. Two of the Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning movies are bringing Tom back in his epic role of Ethan Hunt. So, we can’t wait to see what’s next for this unwearying actor.
Tom Cruise movies in order: At a glance
- Endless Love 1981
- Taps 1981
- Losin’ It 1982
- The Outsiders 1983
- Risky Business 1983
- All The Right Moves 1983
- Legend 1985
- Top Gun 1986
- The Colors Of Money 1986
- Cocktail 1988
- Young Guns 1988
- Rain Man 1988
- Born on the Fourth of July 1989
- Days Of Thunder 1990
- Far and Away 1992
- A Few Good Men 1992
- The Firm 1993
- Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles 1994
- Mission Impossible 1996
- Jerry Maguire 1996
- Eyes Wide Shut 1999
- Magnolia 1999
- Mission: Impossible II 2000
- Vanilla Sky 2001
- Minority Report 2002
- Austin Powers in Goldmember 2002
- The Last Samurai 2003
- Collateral 2004
- War of the Worlds 2005
- Mission Impossible III 2006
- Lions for Lambs 2007
- Tropic Thunder 2008
- Valkyrie 2008
- Knight and Day 2010
- Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol 2011
- Rock of Ages 2012
- Jack Reacher 2012
- Oblivion 2013
- Edge of Tomorrow 2014
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation 2015
- Jack Reacher: Never Go Back 2016
- The Mummy 2017
- American Made 2017
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout 2018
- Top Gun: Maverick 2022
What is the best way to watch Tom Cruise movies?
Since most of his movies are not connected, the best way to watch them is in order of release.
Tom Cruise movies in order of release
By their release, the list of Tom Cruise movies goes as follows:
1. Endless Love ( 1981 )
We’ll start off this list with the movie that was the debut of Tom Cruise’s amazing career. Endless Love is about David and Jade, two teenagers in love whose relationship is filled with turbulence and misdemeanors. Tom portrays the character of Billy, one of David’s friends.
2. Taps ( 1981 )
Young cadets are trying their best to prevent their Bunker Hill Military Academy from being demolished. Tom Cruise portrays one of the cadets, David, who alongside his mates rises a rebellion on the campus in order to reach their goals.
3. Losin’ It ( 1982 )
In this movie, we get to follow four teenagers on their journey to Tijuana to have some fun. Tom plays a character named Woody and the movie is a comedy set in the ’60s.
4. The Outsiders ( 1983 )
Tom portrays Steve Randle, one of the Greasers who live their lives as a teen gang often resolving their disputes with others via violence. Eventually, their way of life comes catching up with them and some lives are lost in the process, so they must decide what kind of people they wish to become.
5. Risky Business ( 1983 )
When his parents are away from home, a teenager ( Tom Cruise ) decides to indulge himself in a night of fun. However, things get out of hand as some severe damages are done. In order to rectify his mistakes, he tries to earn some money fast with some questionable methods.
6. All The Right Moves ( 1983 )
Tom portrays a young football player in a small town where unemployment reached its peak. His only way to get away is poverty and unemployment is to get a football scholarship. Along the way, this high school kid makes some mistakes and gets into some arguments that involve his coach and his girlfriend.
7. Legend ( 1985 )
In this one, the unicorns are in danger, and evil forces are trying to prevail over the good. Tom Cruise plays a character named Jack who alongside his friends gives all his efforts to prevent evil from creating eternal night.
8. Top Gun ( 1986 )
With the release of Top Gun, Tom Cruise established himself as a rising star and his popularity grew immensely after that. Two of the best Navy pilots, Maverick ( Tom Cruise ) and Goose are accepted into Top Gun, the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School. There they have to compete against some of the most skilled pilots in order to win the Top Gun Trophy.
9. The Colors Of Money ( 1986 )
In this sports drama, we follow a story of a former pool hustler who meets Vincent Lauria ( Tom Cruise ). Vincent learns how he can earn money at pool halls with the help of his girlfriend and ‘Fast Eddie’. Eddie teaches Vincent some shady tricks on how to win, but eventually, these two go separate ways.
10. Cocktail ( 1988 )
In this one, we get to see Tom as Brian Flanagan, a young student. In order to earn some money, he works as a bartender and that job will change his life in more than one way as he will learn some new skills, and also find love in the process.
11. Young Guns ( 1988 )
In this one Cruise had only a minor role where he was killed quickly. Apparently, he found himself accidentally on the set of this film, so he expressed his wishes to be a part of the western movie.
12. Rain Man ( 1988 )
Tom Cruise is Charlie Babbit in this one. He is an entrepreneur whose life changes when he finds out he has an autistic-savant brother Raymond ( Dustin Hoffman ). Motivated by money, Charlie decides to take Raymond with him and these two embark on a journey. Their relationship is full of ups and downs which will eventually change both of them for the better.
13. Born on the Fourth of July ( 1989 )
The movie tells the story of Ron Kovic, an activist for human rights. When the country he fought for turned its back on him when he needed them the most, he felt it is time to turn the page so he became a vivid activist and an anti-war preacher. The storyline is based on real-life events and Tom Cruise was nominated for Oscar for his performance as Ron Kovic.
14. Days Of Thunder ( 1990 )
We got to experience the thrills of NASCAR racing in this one. Tom is Cole Trickle, a young racecar driver trying to make it in this brutal competition but his impulsive character is prone to get him into trouble and rivalry with others.
15. Far and Away ( 1992 )
Tom is Joseph Donnelly in this one. Alongside lovely Shannon ( Nicole Kidman), these two embark on a journey of their lifetime in order to claim free land. On their journey, they find more than what they bargained for at the start.
16. A Few Good Men ( 1992 )
In this court drama, Tom Cruise portrays a Navy lawyer assigned to investigate a murder that happened among the Marines at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. This one is one of Cruise’s finest, with ‘you can’t handle the truth as one of the most iconic movie lines ever.
17. The Firm ( 1993 )
We get to see Cruise in this one portraying a role of a lawyer, Mitch McDeere. As a star in the rising, he is offered a job that is too good to be true. Later on, he realizes that not everything is bright as it seemed at the first and that there are some shady things going on in the company.
18. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles ( 1994 )
In this movie, we get to follow the story of a vampire and his point of view on some of the most important aspects of life. Tom Cruise is Lestat de Lioncourt in this one and has more of a supporting role.
19. Mission Impossible ( 1996 )
Mission Impossible franchise established Tom Cruise as an action movies legend. In this one, he portrays Ethan Hunt, a secret agent who is accused of being responsible for the deaths of his team and espionage. He must do everything in his power to resolve the conspiracy behind it all.
20. Jerry Maguire ( 1996 )
Tom is a sports agent in this one who decides to become an independent agent in order to accomplish his goals. Things get somewhat complicated when he must put all his efforts into only one client who relies upon him very much. ‘Show me the money, is also one of the iconic movie lines that can be found in this one.
21. Eyes Wide Shut ( 1999 )
Tom Cruise is Dr. William Harford in this one. The movie is somewhat thought-provoking as it raises questions about sexuality, fantasies, and fidelity. Harford is married, but after an argument with his wife, he will stumble into the night which will change his life forever.
22. Magnolia ( 1999 )
The movie is a composition of various different stories that happen on the same day to different people. The stories presented in the movie are interesting and thought-provoking. Tom Cruise was nominated for The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in this one.
23. Mission: Impossible II ( 2000 )
Ethan Hunt is back and he has to lead his IMF team on an impossible mission in order to prevent a deadly virus from being released. With a former IMF agent being against him, Ethan has to give his best to prevent a catastrophe.
24. Vanilla Sky ( 2001 )
Tom Cruise is David Aames, a publishing magnate and a narcissist who suffers a tragedy that leaves him with scarred and disfigured face. What follows after can only be described as a mixture of depression and lucid dreaming.
25. Minority Report ( 2002 )
In this sci-fi movie, Cruise is a detective John Anderton. The year is 2054 when technology is used to determine who will become a murderer in the future so they can arrest them before that happens. Things get complicated for John when he himself is accused of committing a crime in the future.
26. Austin Powers in Goldmember ( 2002 )
This is actually a self-parody where Cruise plays Famous Austin (‘Austinpussy’). He has a minor role in this one where he probably wanted to exploit the popularity of Austin Powers movies in his favor.
27. The Last Samurai ( 2003 )
Tom is Captain Nathan Algren in this one. He is an American officer whose circumstances led him to train the Japanese army and taught them some new ways of fighting in order to help them in an epic battle that is ahead of them.
28. Collateral ( 2004 )
Tom Cruise is Vincent, a contract killer who is hired to do just another job. Things go sideways for one cab driver who is offered $600 for driving Vincent while he is on his mission to kill people.
29. War of the Worlds ( 2005 )
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a father of two who is trying to get on the same page with his children. However, when a catastrophe occurs and the beginning of the alien invasion is imminent, Ray has to put all his efforts to keep his family safe.
30. Mission Impossible III ( 2006 )
We find Ethan Hunt as a retired agent who finally settled down. But he is forced to get back on the field when his loved ones are endangered. This installment is equally action-packed as the first two movies in the franchise.
31. Lions for Lambs ( 2007 )
Cruise is Senator Jasper Irving in this war drama. The movie is a mixture of politics and war, and it also consists of three different points of view on war. Senator, professor, and reporter all have different views on the topic, but everything is connected in a way.
32. Tropic Thunder ( 2008 )
A group of actors is making a Vietnam War film and things start to go wrong when they’re forced to deal with some real-life action they were just not prepared for. Tom Cruise has a minor role in this one.
33. Valkyrie ( 2008 )
Tom Cruise is Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, a Nazi officer who, after being faithful to the German regime, finally decides to put an end to Adolf Hilter’s plans. His goal is to plan and conduct an assassination on Hitler in order to prevent him from carrying out his plans.
34. Knight and Day ( 2010 )
An action-comedy that follows a woman who gets caught up in the world of espionage after she meets a charming stranger. He claims to be a secret agent and soon she finds herself on the run with him, wanted by the government. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have great on-screen chemistry and the action sequences are well done.
35. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ( 2011 )
IMF agency gets shut down in this one after being blamed for the attack on Kremlin. IMF agents are left out in the dry, so Ethan has no choice but to get to the bottom of the conspiracy behind it in order to clear the agency’s name. We get to see a very interesting team-up in this one.
36. Rock of Ages ( 2012 )
Rock of Ages is a musical comedy that follows Drew and Sherrie, two people full of dreams and hopes who happened to be in love also. Tom Cruise portrays the character of a rock god, Stacee Jaxx, who is trying to make Drew and Sherrie’s lives somewhat difficult.
37. Jack Reacher ( 2012 )
Tom Cruise portrays Jack Reacher, an ex-military cop who is summoned to investigate the case of a sniper who is accused of murdering several people. Jack soon finds out that things are not as they might seem and that there are some peculiar things in this whole case.
38. Oblivion ( 2013 )
The year is 2077 and Earth is left in ruins after the war against the aliens. Tom Cruise is Jack Harper, a lone repairman on Earth. After some events, he started to question his own purpose and whether everything he thought he knew was actually true.
39. Edge of Tomorrow ( 2014 )
In this sci-fi movie, Tom Cruise is Bill Cage, a soldier who is stuck in a time loop and he relives the same battle over and over again in which he always dies. He must find a way to destroy an alien responsible for all of that.
40. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation ( 2015 )
When the group of highly skilled agents called the Syndicate becomes a threat to the world, Ethan and his team have to step up once again in order to prevent the Syndicate and all their ill intentions. Ethan teams up with some old and some new faces in this one.
41. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back ( 2016 )
In the second installment in this franchise, Jack Reacher is back and this time he’s trying to clear the name of one of the members of his old unit. When he finds the conspiracy behind it all, he has no choice but to do what he does best and put all his skills and intelligence to work.
42. The Mummy ( 2017 )
Tom Cruise is Nick Morton in The Mummy, an ex-soldier of fortune in the US Army. When he accidentally released an ancient Egyptian princess from her tomb, he brought a curse upon himself and was set to be a human sacrifice to an ancient Egyptian deity.
43. American Made ( 2017 )
The story is about the pilot Barry Seal who smuggled drugs, money, and weapons from Columbia to the USA. However, when the CIA conducted one of their secret operations, later on, they hired Barry to be their guy in the mission.
44. Mission: Impossible – Fallout ( 2018 )
In this one, Ethan Hunt and others have to work with the members of the CIA in order to prevent the terrorists called the Apostles from using plutonium cores. Ethan is put on a test in this one as he must bring some difficult choices.
45. Top Gun: Maverick ( 2022 )
Decades since the events of the first Top Gun movie, Pete Mitchell ( Tom Cruise ) is sent to Top Gun to be an instructor. Maverick arrives at Top Gun and takes his position as an instructor. However, his past catches up with him when he realizes that one of the students is actually Bradley Bradshaw, Goose’s son.
Do you need to watch Tom Cruise movies in order?
You don’t have to watch Tom Cruise movies in order, except for film series like Top Gun for example, and Mission Impossible, most of his movies are standalone and can be watched by order of release.
Are Tom Cruise movies connected?
Not all Tom Cruise movies are connected, some film series are but of his movies are, as we said before, standalone and don’t follow any particular order.
Will There be more Tom Cruise movies?
Most definitely, Tom Cruise is a prolific actor and he will have more movies in the future, we can’t wait to see what he has in store for us. In 2023 we can look forward to Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning. There have been certain speculation related to the Edge of Tomorrow sequel, but it’s unconfirmed as of now.
