{"id":386758,"date":"2026-04-19T04:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T04:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/386758\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T04:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T04:05:09","slug":"tom-cruise-set-to-pocket-hollywoods-biggest-ever-payday-with-100million-deal-to-return-as-maverick-in-top-gun-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/386758\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Cruise set to pocket Hollywood’s biggest-ever payday with \u00a3100million deal to return as Maverick in Top Gun 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

By CAROLINE GRAHAM, US EDITOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 19:45 EDT, 18 April 2026 | Updated: 21:09 EDT, 18 April 2026 <\/p>\n

He earned \u00a375 million for Top Gun: Maverick<\/a>, the 2022 sequel to the 1986 original \u2013 thanks to a deal that gave him a healthy cut of the movie’s huge box office profits.<\/p>\n

And now Tom Cruise<\/a> is set to pocket Hollywood’s biggest-ever pay-cheque for Top Gun 3.<\/p>\n

The 63-year-old is expected to make about \u00a3100 million for his return as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell \u2013 and he’ll repeat his producer role in the blockbuster franchise.<\/p>\n

It is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2028.<\/p>\n

Cruise will earn a reported \u00a318 million salary and about 8 per cent of the profits \u2013 should Top Gun 3 match the second film’s \u00a31.1billion earnings, he stands to rake in more than \u00a375 million.<\/p>\n

Top Gun 3 was confirmed by Paramount film co-head Josh Greenstein at Las Vegas<\/a> CinemaCon last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Cruise and Maverick co-writer Ehren Kruger are already working on the script.<\/p>\n

A senior figure at Paramount said last night: ‘Top Gun: Maverick was the biggest movie of Tom’s career and the film which brought audiences back [to cinemas] after Covid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tom <\/p>\n

Tom Cruise is expected to make about \u00a3100 million for his return as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell \u2013 and he’ll repeat his producer role in the blockbuster franchise<\/p>\n

‘There is no Top Gun\u00a0without Tom, so the initial salary is a given.<\/p>\n

‘The profit share is generous, because David Ellison, who now owns Paramount, produced Maverick via his company Skydance, and believes Tom is worth every cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘He is confident this film will earn over a billion dollars.’<\/p>\n

The second Top Gun film was directed by Joseph Kosinski and also starred Miles Teller and Glen Powell as young pilots being mentored by Cruise’s character.<\/p>\n

Ellison has cited Top Gun 3 as a top priority for Paramount and said that he would be in the ‘Cruise business’ as long as the A-list star \u2013 with whom he has made ten films \u2013 wanted to tell stories with him.<\/p>\n

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