Almost. But his second act has saved his reputation — and ability to sell movie tickets.

DALLAS — The clock was ticking on Thursday, May 22, as Tom Cruise stopped in Deep Ellum for a sampler plate of beef ribs, brisket, sausage and turkey at Pecan Lodge before sliding into a shiny black vehicle and heading to an early evening screening of "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" at the Webb Chapel Cinemark,

If Tom Cruise is truly going to save the movies from Big Tech, he'll do so with a fistful of popcorn. Cruise emerged as Hollywood's foremost advocate for the theatrical experience during the COVID-19 pandemic,

While this paradigm is in flux in modern Hollywood, with franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe making intellectual properties more valuable than the actors at the center of the films,