Tom Cruise will reportedly get at least $100 million for 'Top Gun: Maverick' — one of the biggest paydays for an actor ever

• Tom Cruise is set to earn $100 million or more for "Top Gun: Maverick," according to Variety.
• Cruise has a backend deal in which he earns a portion of the movie's box office.

Not only is "Top Gun: Maverick" giving life to movie theaters as they look to recover from the pandemic, but the movie is also giving star Tom Cruise a massive payday.

Variety reported on Wednesday that Cruise is expected to earn $100 million or more from the movie after accounting for his upfront salary, his portion of the box office, and his take from future home-entertainment sales.

A representative for Cruise did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation from Insider.

Cruise took a smaller upfront payment — just $13 million, according to a previous Variety report — in exchange for a richer backend deal, in which he gets a cut of the movie's ticket sales.

"Maverick" has made $1.24 billion at the worldwide box office, including $620 million in the US, with no signs of slowing down. It's the highest-grossing movie released so far this year.

Cruise's $100 million would be one of the biggest paydays for an actor for a single movie ever. It's comparable to Will Smith's payment for "Men In Black 3," in which he earned $100 million off a backend deal.

Another recent high-paying movie role is Daniel Craig in Netflix's two upcoming "Knives Out" sequels. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he'll nab "upwards of $100 million" — but that's across both movies.

It's rare for actors to strike such lucrative deals today, in a time when superhero franchises are often a bigger draw than big-name actors.

But Cruise will try to strike while the iron is hot — he has a similar deal in place for the next two "Mission: Impossible" movies, according to Variety, in which he'll take a small upfront payment and a larger portion of box-office sales.