Actor Tom Cruise has remained a prominent and talented star of the entertainment industry for many years now. However, that doesn’t mean he has only appeared in blockbuster hits. His performance in director Adam Shankman’s 2012 movie Rock of Ages almost ruined Cruise’s perfect career. At the time, Cruise returned to the Mission: Impossible franchise, and this performance put his career at risk again but he eventually starred in various other hits to make up for his terrible performance in Rock of Ages.

Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages was a box-office bomb and even today, it remains one of the worst movies in the filmographies of its main cast. It included the likes of Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Åkerman, Mary J. Blige, and Bryan Cranston.

Tom Cruise almost ended his career by appearing in Rock of Ages (2012)

Tom Cruise in a still from Rock of Ages

Actor Tom Cruise played the role of Stacee Jaxx, a detached and self-indulgent rock star, in director Adam Shankman’s 2012 movie Rock of Ages. This was, without a doubt, one of the worst career decisions taken by Cruise as the film was a massive failure and Cruise’s performance was average.

Upon release, the film received mixed reviews from critics, but it served as a massive financial loss for the studio as it became a box-office bomb. As per The Numbers, the film grossed only $59 million worldwide on a $75 million budget. It seems like Cruise’s stardom didn’t help as the film couldn’t fill up the theatres.

Tom Cruise’s career slowed down in the late 2000s

Tom Cruise in Rock of Ages

In 2006, Sumner Redstone, chairman of Paramount’s parent company Viacom, announced that they were firing Tom Cruise from the Mission: Impossible franchise as the studio believed Cruise’s controversial behavior was the reason behind the disappointing performance of Mission: Impossible III. Redstone said in a public statement,

“We don’t think that someone who effectuates creative suicide and costs the company revenue should be on the lot […] His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.”

Cruise did make up eventually with movies like Valkyrie (2008), and Knight and Day (2010). In 2010, Cruise was hired again by Paramount to create Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which went on to become the highest-grossing film in the franchise at the time.