Tom Cruise has built a career on defying gravity and expectations, whether he's dangling from a cargo plane or leaping between skyscrapers. But even the most fearless action star has an occasional stumble. Nearly a decade after its theatrical debut, that stumble is getting a second act—this time on streaming.
The Mummy, Cruise's 2017 supernatural adventure, has resurfaced in Netflix's Top 10 movie rankings, reminding us that streaming can resurrect even the most cursed of blockbusters. The film, which grossed around $410 million worldwide, was meant to kick off Universal's ambitious "Dark Universe"—a shared cinematic world of classic monsters. Instead, it became a cautionary tale about the perils of building a franchise before earning audience trust.
A Mummy with a Modern Twist
The plot follows Nick Morton (Cruise), a soldier of fortune who accidentally awakens an ancient Egyptian princess, Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella), buried for millennia. Her malevolent spirit, fueled by a stolen destiny, unleashes terrors across the globe, from the Middle Eastern desert to the hidden catacombs beneath London. It's a globe-trotting ride that mixes horror, action, and a dash of the supernatural.
The cast is a who's who of talent: Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders) as the determined archaeologist Jenny Halsey, Russell Crowe as a mysterious Dr. Henry Jekyll, Jake Johnson as Nick's wisecracking sidekick, and Courtney B. Vance as a military colonel. Crowe's Jekyll was clearly set up as a connective tissue for the Dark Universe, with plans to introduce Frankenstein's Monster and the Invisible Man, potentially played by Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp.
Why It Failed—and Why It's Back
Despite Cruise's star power and a hefty marketing push, The Mummy was panned by critics and lost an estimated $100 million for Universal. The Dark Universe crumbled before a second film could even begin production. But now, in November 2026, the movie has found a new audience on Netflix, joining the ranks of other streaming resurrections. It's a reminder that sometimes a film's legacy is rewritten not in theaters, but in the quiet comfort of our living rooms.
For those curious about how this fits into the broader streaming landscape, Netflix has been nailing its original series while also reviving older titles. And if you're in the mood for more Cruise action, his time-bending thriller Looper hits Netflix this November as well. But for now, The Mummy is the one digging its way back into the spotlight.
Is it a good movie? That's debatable. But it's undeniably entertaining in a chaotic, big-budget way. And in the streaming era, sometimes that's enough to earn a second chance.
