Tom Cruise's 10 Worst-Reviewed Movies On Rotten Tomatoes

Published Sep 30, 2026, 1:45 PM EDT

Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release.

He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years.

Tom Cruise is regarded as one of Hollywood's biggest stars, known for making exciting, crowd-pleasing movies, but not all his films get great reviews. That is the case once again with his 2026 feature, Digger. Teaming with acclaimed director Alejandro G. Iñárritu was heralded early on as a necessary shake-up for the actor's career after almost exclusively making action films for a decade.

However, Digger's reviews have been all over the place. Some have praised the movie for its bold swing and Cruise's Oscar-worthy performance. Others have criticized the movie for having an underbaked story, poor visuals, jokes that don't land, and a Cruise performance that's too over the top. ScreenRant's Digger review by Brandon Zachary praised the film, giving it 8 out of 10 stars.

Depending on the person, there are some who will consider Digger to be among Tom Cruise's best movies. But the divisive reactions also mean there are certainly other viewers who view it as one of his worst. So far, the movie has almost exactly split critics, with Digger's Rotten Tomatoes score sitting at 53% on the Tomatometer, making it Cruise's first "Rotten" movie in nearly a decade.

But Digger is far from his first badly reviewed movie. In fact, it is not even one of Cruise's worst-reviewed movies. He has 10 other films that split critics with a more negative skew or almost exclusively brought bad reviews.

10 Knight and Day (2010)

Tom Cruise partnered with Cameron Diaz and director James Mangold for an action comedy in 2010 called Knight and Day. On paper, Cruise reuniting with a charismatic and funny co-star in Diaz and a steady filmmaker in Mangold should have produced great results. Instead, Knight and Day split critics, leaving it at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The average review score is 5.7 out of 10, with it narrowly having more positive reviews than negative ones. Many critics found some fun with the movie, even if it couldn't all come together or do much to set itself apart from every other action comedy. Everything in Knight and Day feels familiar, even if Cruise and Diaz do their best to make it enjoyable.

9 Rock of Ages (2012)

Cruise made an unexpected pivot in 2012 to go full musical for Rock of Ages. Playing a rock star named Stacee Jaxx, the actor fully commits to a part that doubles as a commentary on his own movie stardom, making it one of Cruise's most underrated performances. That wasn't enough for Rock of Ages to land with the majority of critics, as negative reviews gave it a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 5.2 out of 10.

The issues with Rock of Ages range from its overlong runtime, its overstuffed story, and questionable musical numbers. While this story has been well-received for years as a Broadway show, it did not translate well to the big screen. Rock of Ages may have its fans, but even those involved have turned on it, with Alec Baldwin calling it "a horrible movie" the year after it came out.

8 Vanilla Sky (2001)

Cruise was expecting another huge hit with Vanilla Sky in 2001. The movie reteams him with director Cameron Crowe after the pair delivered a critical and financial hit in Jerry Maguire. Instead of playing it safe, they made an ambitious mystery thriller. Critics largely didn't respond, and Vanilla Sky earneda 41% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The criticisms levied against Vanilla Sky range from its genre-mashups not working to the story being difficult to follow and Cruise's performance not being where it needs to be. Despite this more negative rating, the movie has its fans who view it as a near masterpiece. That's why its average review score is 6 out of 10, with passionate defenders hailing its brilliance.

7 Days Of Thunder (1990)

Paramount Pictures

After getting a need for speed with Top Gun, Cruise put himself behind the wheel of a race car for Days of Thunder and reunited with director Tony Scott. While the movie has its cult following, critics were not all that impressed. Days of Thunder holds a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 5.1 out of 10 average score.

Reviews criticized the all-too-familiar story and lacking characters. Several critics even harped on the movie's action being underwhelming, which is all the more disappointing considering what Scott and Cruise proved they could do together before.

6 Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Cruise found a new franchise with Jack Reacher in the 2010s, but things didn't go well with the sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. The title proves to be quite fitting, as the final product suggests Cruise shouldn't have returned to this role and the general response showed viewers never wanted to go back to this series again.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back sits at 37% on Rotten Tomatoes due to a host of issues, but the biggest culprit is its unoriginality. It couldn't find a way to make itself feel like a fresh entry in the action genre, much less in Cruise's filmography. The only good thing to really come from the movie is that it ended the franchise and opened the door for Alan Ritchson's Reacher show years later.

5 Lions For Lambs (2007)

Kicking off the bottom five worst-reviewed movies of Cruise's career, we have his dramatic turn in Lions for Lambs. The movie pairs him with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep for what should have been a simple, effective, and exceptionally well-acted political drama. But that isn't what Redford's directorial effort proved to be.

Lions for Lambs has a 28% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 4.9 out of 10 average score. A big knock on the film is that its political, social, and military commentary is too heavy-handed and lacks nuance. The all-star cast delivers strong performances, but they aren't enough to make Lions for Lambs a truly memorable story.

4 Endless Love (1981)

Tom Cruise is not one of the main stars of Endless Love, but its poor reception goes on his record anyway. He has a supporting role to play in the film, which otherwise revolves around the romance between Richard Kiley and Brooke Shields' characters. Critics didn't care for what transpired, giving Endless Love a 26% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 4.7 out of 10 average score.

Adapting Scott Spencer's novel of the same name brought high expectations that Endless Love couldn't live up to. Roger Ebert gave it 2 out of 4 stars in his review, calling it "a narrative and logical mess." That viewpoint is echoed throughout other reviews, for which there are only 19 on Rotten Tomatoes, making this a relatively small sample size.

3 Losin' It (1982)

Losin' It has an even smaller critical consensus for Rotten Tomatoes to judge. There are only 11 reviews available for Cruise's 1982 comedy. However, they are almost exclusively negative, giving Losin' It an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. Esteemed critic Janet Maslin gave it a 2 out of 5 stars.

The results are surprising considering it is directed by Curtis Hanson. The filmmaker would go on to make acclaimed features like L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, 8 Mile, and Adaptation. This movie came very early in his career and before he was capable of delivering Oscar-winning works.

2 The Mummy (2017)

The Mummy proved that Cruise shouldn't have tried to bring this IP back from the dead. The supernatural action movie had grand ambitions to begin the Dark Universe with Hollywood's A-list star at the center. These plans are quite apparent in The Mummy, which is one of the biggest reasons why critics lambasted the blockbuster.

The 2017 reboot is weighed down by its need to lay the groundwork for an entire universe, forgetting to make a competent first installment that audiences will care about. It's overly serious compared to Brendan Fraser's fan-favorite franchise, while the monster elements also failed to impress. It's no wonder The Mummy earned a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.

1 Cocktail (1988)

Image credit: MovieStillsDB

The worst-reviewed movie of Cruise's entire career is Cocktail. The 1988 romantic comedy pairing him with Elisabeth Shue falls flat at every turn. Critics' thoughts were so negative that Cocktail only has an 11% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Roger Ebert gave it 2 out of 4 stars and concluded his review by saying, "The more you think about what really happens in Cocktail, the more you realize how empty and fabricated it really is." With a ridiculous story, a failed romance, and questionable decisions, the movie set a low bar for Tom Cruise's movies to clear and avoid worse reviews.