5 Huge Tom Cruise Action Movies Are Running Away From Netflix

Five movies from a Tom Cruise-led action franchise will be removed from Netflix’s library next month. Based on a 1966 television series, the movies follow a highly skilled agent tasked with world-saving missions.

Mission: Impossible 1-5 to leave Netflix next month

Tom Cruise’s five movies—Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible 2, Mission: Impossible III, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation—are leaving Netflix on Friday, May 1, 2026.

The franchise was inspired by Bruce Geller’s 1966 television series of the same name, originally aired on CBS. The movies follow an IMF agent named Ethan Hunt, who handles high-risk covert operations with the help of his small, trusted team. Each movie focuses on global-level threats from powerful criminal organizations.

The original Mission: Impossible movie was released on May 22, 1996. Brian De Palma directed it with a script by David Koepp and Steven Zaillian. Alongside starring in the movie, Cruise co-produced it under his production company, Cruise/Wagner Productions. It was the actor’s first project as a producer.

Upon its release, the movie became an instant hit among genre enthusiasts. Made on a reported budget of $80 million, Mission: Impossible earned more than $457 million globally (via Box Office Mojo). Critically, it holds a 71% user rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while over 168 critics rated it an average of 67%.

However, the John Woo-helmed sequel Mission: Impossible 2 was universally panned. Despite this, it went on to make $546.3 million at the box office. With a 58% critic rating and a 42% user rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the lowest-rated movie in the franchise. Mission: Impossible III, released in 2006, earned $398.4 million. Although its ratings improved, with an average critic rating of 73%.

The subsequent two sequels followed in 2011 and 2015. Notably, the ratings and box office earnings grew significantly with each installment. While Brad Bird’s Ghost Protocol earned $694.7 million, Christopher McQuarrie’s Rogue Nation made over $710.9 million. Both of them have over 90% critic score on the review-aggregator site.

Source: Comingsoon.net