Tom Cruise flies high into the awards zone

The critical and financial success of “Top Gun: Maverick” has returned Tom Cruise, 60, to Oscar contention after some time away. A look at Cruise’s past nominations, snubs and re-entry into the awards picture:

3

Cruise’s past Oscar nominations — lead for “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Jerry Maguire” and supporting for “Magnolia” — came during a …

10

... -year span, from 1990-2000.

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Cruise’s snubbed performances in “The Color of Money,” “Rain Man” and “A Few Good Men” were treated as springboards for nominated older stars Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson.

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Newman and Hoffman won lead Oscars for their roles opposite Cruise.

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Nominations for the first “Top Gun,” all below the line: editing, sound, sound effects editing, original song (“Take My Breath Away,” which won).

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Times Cruise has been nominated for an action film.

$700 million+

“Top Gun: Maverick’s” domestic haul, aka the amount it took to, according to some headlines, “save theaters” in 2022.

96%

The sequel’s Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score, another indicator of the goodwill toward it, and how things might be different for Cruise and the franchise at these Oscars.