Tom Cruise Earned a Gargantuan $60000000 for 1 Movie He Claimed to be Working for Free After Getting Cast
Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire is one of the classic rom-coms of his career that will forever reign in people’s hearts. It was quite a surprise for everyone when a megastar like Tom Cruise decided to sign on for the $50 million budget film without even charging a penny. The movie was a massive box-office success and went on to make a massive $273 million at the box office. It also garnered favorable reviews from the critics.
Even though Tom Cruise worked for free on Jerry Maguire, he managed to earn a gargantuan $60000000 through other means from the movie.
Tom Cruise Made Massive Money From Jerry Maguire Even Though He Claimed He Worked For Free On It
Although Jerry Maguire was specifically written for Tom Hanks by Cameron Crowe, it is neigh impossible to think of anyone else leading the cast except Tom Cruise. It was a role that helped him secure an Academy Award nomination, thereby truly cementing his position as an actor in Hollywood. So, even if he had not gotten paid for his acting, he was fairly compensated in terms of critical adoration and award circuit recognition.
However, Cruise did make a sizable income from the movie and that is not from acting in the movie. He was extremely committed to the movie and even though it was below his paygrade, he did not fall short of dedication to making this movie a roaring success. Cameron Crowe sat on the podcast chair of Here’s The Thing and recalled how Cruise flew in from London to New York and went on a promotion rampage for an entire week.
“Tom came from London to New York and said, ‘Boys, I’m gonna do some promotion’,” he continued. “And he started on a Monday, did Rosie, did Larry King, did everything. By the end of the week, our numbers were way high. He basically blew us a kiss, went back to England, and the movie opened.”
He did receive a good amount of money for all the promotions he did. After all, he significantly contributed to the film’s success and almost singlehandedly made the opening weekend the historic success it was.
Cameron Crowe Was Wary Of Signing On Tom Cruise For Jerry Maguire
In the Here’s The Thing podcast, Cameron Crowe was wary of taking on Tom Cruise for his big project, as Cruise was notorious for assuming creative control of any project he was involved in. It did not sit well with the director, who thought Cruise would assume great control over his project and that it would cease to be his own.
“Your friends take you aside and say, ‘When Tom Cruise says yes, you lose your power. You can’t do a thing. It just becomes a freight train that’s out of control, and it’s a Hollywood freight train and you’ll be lucky if you see the back of the caboose’,” he said. “And you get terrified. And then Tom Cruise calls from England and says, ‘I read your script. I hope I’m the right guy. Let me come out and read it for you.’”
When Crowe heard that Cruise was looking to read the part instead of assuming it was already his, he was stunned.
“Wait. You’re gonna come out here and read it? ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Why not know it’s right for both of us?’ And he was ‘that guy’ from the moment he got off the plane.”
It seems Cruise was greatly drawn to the character that was written for Tom Hanks and was so mesmerized that he decided to work on it for free.
Jerry Maguire is available to watch on Netflix.
