Despite $8.3B in the Bank, Johnny Depp Movies Can Never Break a Tom Cruise Record

The box office collection of Johnny Depp’s movies seems ordinary when compared to Tom Cruise’s record.

Johnny Depp might not be in the limelight as much these days as he used to be in the first two decades of this century, but he’s still considered one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood due to his impeccable past exploits at the box office.
Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Only a few actors in the industry have ever managed to get near the elusive $1 billion mark. Depp has crossed that figure three separate times as a lead. Across his illustrious career, the Pirates of the Caribbean star has seen his movies – where he was at the center stage – gross more than $8.3 billion at the box office. Still, these staggering numbers attached to the 60-year-old’s name start to look pale when put against Tom Cruise’s record.

How Earnings of Johnny Depp Movies Compare to Tom Cruise’s Box Office RecordAs mentioned above, Johnny Depp has slowly moved away from the spotlight in recent years. However, Tom Cruise is perhaps the only actor of his stature who has never really stopped attracting camera flashes ever since his breakout role in Risky Business. 

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.
The 1983 comedy grossed $63.5 million against a budget of $6.2 million and underlined, for the first time, Cruise’s ability to attract moviegoers with his charming appearance.

Cruise quickly pivoted to the action genre with Top Gun (1986) and seemingly found his calling, as since then, he has rarely tried his hands at other genres. His Mission: Impossible franchise stands as one of the best action franchises of all time, helping him cement his place as the biggest action star of his generation.

The 61-year-old brought new installments of both Top Gun and Mission: Impossible series to cinema halls this decade. The two movies grossed a combined total exceeding $2 billion, underlining he still remains the one true superstar of Hollywood.

In the process, Cruise has also surpassed Depp’s record of $8.3 billion at the box office. As things stand, the Jack Reacher star’s movies have managed more than $10.5 billion globally with him as a leading face, as per The Numbers.

Impressively, Cruise has managed the feat by leading fewer movies (39) than Depp (41) – indicating his incredible potential to attract viewers to theaters more consistently.

Considering their respective career trajectories, it’s very unlikely the Edward Scissorhands star will manage to get closer to Cruise’s record, let alone beat it.

How Johnny Depp Beat Tom Cruise for a Role in One of His Career’s Best Movies

Having said that, there’s a lot more to an actor’s life than just selling tickets. When it comes to acting prowess, Depp has time and again shown he’s one of the most versatile talents in the industry. In fact, the three-time Oscar nominee’s openness to do more complex and darker roles played a part in helping him beat Cruise for the role of Edward in Edward Scissorhands, one of his career’s most appreciated films.

Johnny Depp.
It’s understood (via Screen Rant) that during a meeting with director Tim Burton, Cruise was supposedly too bothered about the logistics of the plot rather than understanding the gist of the story of a synthetic man with scissor hands.

Further, Cruise was also more interested in ending the movie on a happier note instead of Burton’s melancholic ending. The creative differences meant things never progressed to any serious stage between the actor and the filmmaker, who finally opted to go with Depp, who delivered an outstanding performance.