“Tom approaches every project with a level of commitment and dedication that is unmatched by most working in our business today,” the statement read. In a statement, Universal refuted that Cruise had a negative influence on the production.

It’s not clear if the movie will break even, and it’s cast a shadow on the studio’s plans for a Dark Universe franchise that’s supposed to feature A-list stars like Johnny Depp (as “The Invisible Man”) and Angelina Jolie (in negotiations for “The Bride of Frankenstein”).Ī representative for Cruise didn’t respond to a request for comment. The film is performing much stronger overseas, where it was Cruise’s biggest international rollout with a $142 million opening weekend.

With terrible reviews, “The Mummy,” which insiders say cost as much as $190 million to make and more than $100 million more to market and release worldwide, may struggle to make its money back. He also had a great deal of input on the film’s marketing and release strategy, these sources said, advocating for a June debut in a prime summer period. Universal, according to sources familiar with the matter, contractually guaranteed Cruise control of most aspects of the project, from script approval to post-production decisions. “I don’t just make a movie. I give it everything I have and I expect it from everyone also.” On stage, Cruise admitted his own perfectionist tendencies. In the same way that he commanded the stage at the film’s premiere, leaving his cast standing awkwardly by his side, several sources close to the production say that Cruise exerted nearly complete creative oversight on “The Mummy,” essentially wearing all the hats and dictating even the smallest decisions on the set. But instead, it’s become a textbook case of a movie star run amok.Īs Hollywood is playing the blame game on what went wrong on “The Mummy,” which had a measly domestic opening of just $32 million, many fingers are pointing to Cruise. The reboot of “The Mummy” was supposed to be the start of a mega-franchise for Universal Pictures. But in the case of “The Mummy,” one person–Cruise–had an excessive amount of control, according to several people interviewed.

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