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Steven Spielberg just gave Tom Cruise the compliment of a lifetime and it was all caught on camera.
During a luncheon for Oscar nominees this week, the notable director told Cruise he "saved Hollywood's a**" with the success of Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick which raked in nearly $1.5 billion worldwide.
The two hugged upon greeting each other when Spielberg gushed:
"You saved Hollywood’s a**.”
“And you might have saved theatrical distribution. Seriously, ‘Maverick’ might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
Wow!
Cruise was obviously flattered as he beamed and thanked The Fabelmans director for the insanely high praise.
You can watch the moment below.
WARNING: NSFW language
\u201cGolden Words \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25\ud83e\udd29\u2b50\ufe0f\ud83d\udca5... \nSteven Spielberg is seemingly crediting #TomCruise for \u201csaving Hollywood\u201d with theatrical release of \u2018#TopGunMaverick.\u2019 Spielberg met Cruise at the #Oscars nominees luncheon @TomCruise \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc51\n#StevenSpielberg @TopGunMovie\u201d— Girish Johar (@Girish Johar) 1676438451
Many viewers of the moment agreed with Spielberg.
Several stated Maverick was the film that made them return to the theater after the pandemic kept them away.
\u201cI agree with Spielberg. It got me back to the theater. https://t.co/yTN2Is60n6\u201d— steve besio (@steve besio) 1676415474
\u201c@AntonioSabatoJr Tom Cruise may not be the best technical \u201cactor\u201d but when it comes to creating a body of work of entertaining movies\u2026the GOAT\u201d— Antonio Sabato Jr (@Antonio Sabato Jr) 1676464578
\u201c@AntonioSabatoJr These two men have made some of the most entertaining movies... loved by millions... Bravo to the film industry.... Let's see the Academy Awards give praise.\u201d— Antonio Sabato Jr (@Antonio Sabato Jr) 1676464578
\u201c@AntonioSabatoJr It was the best movie in years.\u201d— Antonio Sabato Jr (@Antonio Sabato Jr) 1676464578
\u201c@AntonioSabatoJr It\u2019s the only movie I went to see last year.\u201d— Antonio Sabato Jr (@Antonio Sabato Jr) 1676464578
\u201c@Kingpush3051 @DiscussingFilm Man definitely facts. Film was nothing short of a masterpiece\u201d— \ud83d\udc51 Push (@\ud83d\udc51 Push) 1676408188
\u201c@DiscussingFilm Firmly agree.\u201d— Kyle Fletcher (@Kyle Fletcher) 1676407003
\u201c@DiscussingFilm 100% true!\u201d— The Canadian Lad (@The Canadian Lad) 1676477080
A few even noted Top Gun: Maverick was not the highest-grossing film since the beginning of the pandemic as Spiderman: No Way Home and Avatar: Way of the Water banked a little more.
But it was the film that attracted a broader audience—most notably older, nostalgic patrons—to the theaters.
\u201c@DiscussingFilm I agree. I don't think Spielberg just means money. I think he also means a demographic of people, esp older adults. With older adults returning to the theater, different types of films will hopefully be made again with the same $ backing that great comic book/Superhero movies get\u201d— Pattycakes \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4 (@Pattycakes \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4) 1676401701
\u201c@DiscussingFilm Before everyone starts crying, recall that a huge factor of Top Gun: Maverick\u2019s success was due to a larger turnout from older audiences that had otherwise been absent from theatrical films until then. This is the remaining audience that movie theaters needed to be sustainable.\u201d— Felipe Amaya (@Felipe Amaya) 1676399080
And others made the point that during the COVID lockdown many movies were going straight to streaming services.
\u201c@DiscussingFilm There\u2019s a lot of comments mentioning other films that have had box office success but that\u2019s not exactly what Spielberg is referring to. He\u2019s talking about how Tom Cruise fought for Top Gun\u2019s theatrical distribution when Paramount wanted to released it on streaming during covid.\u201d— Zack Beaulieu (@Zack Beaulieu) 1676447734
\u201c@DiscussingFilm There is an added context to this - Top Gun was one of the -only- films to continue shooting during covid. Cruise his own money on the line to keep the cameras rolling+people paid without being shutdown. When lockdown ended, it was the only major theatrical release ready.\u201d— Charlie Innocent (@Charlie Innocent) 1676401067
Cruise's and Spielberg's films will go toe to toe for Best Picture at the Oscars next month along with James Cameron's Avatar sequel.
But Cruise should consider Spielberg's extremely kind words a win.