Steven Spielberg tells Tom Cruise he 'saved' cinema

Steven Spielberg has told Tom Cruise that he and Top Gun: Maverick "saved" cinema.

The two were seen together at the Oscar nominees luncheon which was held in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton yesterday.

A video captured the two former collaborators in an embrace and Spielberg can be heard saying to Cruise: “You saved Hollywood’s ass.

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"And you might have saved theatrical distribution."

The Jaws director would add: "Seriously, Maverick might have saved the entire theatrical industry."

Top Gun: Maverick was a record breaking success when it was released last summer becoming the highest grossing film of Cruise's career as it took almost $1.5 billion at the global box office.

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Maverick became the second highest grossing film since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic which shut cinemas around the world though has since been surpassed by Avatar: The Way of Water. Maverick also benefitted by not being released on streaming until shortly before Christmas.

The film received highly positive reviews and was supported by strong word of mouth and was recently nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Film.

Spielberg and Cruise have collaborated twice before – on blockbuster action films Minority Report and War of the Worlds. Both were successful with critics and audiences.

Spielberg was at the luncheon after being nominated for his ninth Best Director award for his latest film The Fabelmans. Despite the nine nominations, he has only won the award twice – for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan.

His other nominations were for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Munich, Lincoln and West Side Story.

Cruise can next be seen in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.

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