For an A-List movie star, appearance is everything. How they present themselves in their films plays multiple roles in their continued success; is their specific look connecting with the audience? Are they doing justice to the character? Does the new facade make them look mind-blowingly awesome? A style could make or break a film — and no one knows that better than Tom Cruise.
Cruise isn’t a chameleon, but he’s never been content sticking to one look. He’s a changing entity, thanks to a set of hair that can be manipulated for whatever the case may be. Long, short, virtually nothing at all — Cruise has done it all. But which style has found him the most success? Inspired by the actor’s wild metal hair currently on display in Rock of Ages, we take a look back at the box office numbers for some of Cruise’s biggest movies, putting them side-by-side with his fluctuating hair. Is the star’s success decided by the do? We’ll let the numbers speak:
Risky Business (1983)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $63.5 million
Legend (1985)
Hair Length: Long
Grand Total at the Box Office: $15.5 million
Top Gun (1986)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $176.8 million
Rain Man (1988)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $172.8 million
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Hair Length: Long
Grand Total at the Box Office: $70 million
Days of Thunder (1990)
Hair Length: Mid-Length
Grand Total at the Box Office: $82.7 million
A Few Good Men (1992)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $141.3 million
Interview with a Vampire (1994)
Hair Length: Long
Grand Total at the Box Office: $105.3 million
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $154 million
Magnolia (1999)
Hair Length: Long
Grand Total at the Box Office: $22.5 million
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Hair Length: Mid-Length
Grand Total at the Box Office: $100.6 million
Minority Report (2002)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $132.1 million
The Last Samurai (2003)
Hair Length: Long
Grand Total at the Box Office: $111.1 million
War of the Worlds (2005)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $234.3 million
Lions for Lambs (2007)
Hair Length: Short
Grand Total at the Box Office: $15 million
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Hair Length: Nonexistent
Grand Total at the Box Office: $110.5 million
Knight & Day (2010)
Hair Length: Mid-Length
Grand Total at the Box Office: $76.4 million
The Mission: Impossible Franchise
Hair Length: Fluxuating
Mission: Impossible (1996): $181 million
Mission: Impossible 2 (2002): $215.4 million
Mission: Impossible 3 (2006): $134 million
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011): $209.4 million
Conclusion: While Cruise has seen a number of hits with both crew cuts and lengthy locks, he does his most disappointing business when he straddles the line between the two. Audiences just can’t accept indecision! Cruise’s big business favors his shorter dos, but his character roles call for the lean, mean, buttkicking machine that he’s so easily returned to time and time again. Those who cite Mission: Impossible 2, beware — the low numbers of the third installment could be perceived as a direct response to his long hair look.
Box office numbers provided by Hollywood.com Box Office Analyst Paul Dergarabedian
=”font-style:>
More:
Tom Cruise: Is He Too Big for Good Roles?
‘Rock of Ages’ Star Julianne Hough Talks Tom Cruise and Sexy Set Stories
‘Hunger Games Inspires Movie’s Wildest Beards
[Photo Credit: Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures]
