Tom Cruise's Epic Historical Masterpiece Is Officially Storming the Streaming Charts Again

The historical epic is a staple of cinema, and it's currently proving to be one of the most popular genres. The 21st century's headline filmmaker Christopher Nolan delivered the most ambitious of its kind in recent memory with his adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic The Odyssey, which debuted this summer. Dubbed an "unrivaled cinematic spectacle" in Joe Schmidt's review for Collider, The Odyssey is likely to sweep up at the 2027 Academy Awards, and might even break the nominations record set by Ryan Coogler's Sinners this year.

Having made over $1.6 billion at the box office and still sailing towards new milestones, The Odyssey is far and away the biggest success in Nolan's filmography, and is also the highest-grossing historical epic of all time. Part of its success can be attributed to its star-studded ensemble, led by Matt Damon as the King of Ithaca, and including Lupita Nyong'o, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson.

The historical epic genre's biggest hit of all time is encouraging fans to seek other examples on streaming. One such example is The Last Samurai, the 2003 gem set in 1878 during the Meiji period in Japan. Hollywood veteran Tom Cruise stars in the film as Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren, as he joins forces with director Edward Zwick before the pair would make Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Also starring Ken Watanabe, Hiroyuki Sanada, Timothy Spall, and others, The Last Samurai is a true hidden treasure in the historical epic genre and is currently one of the ten most-streamed movies on HBO Max in the U.S.

What Is Tom Cruise Making Next?

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Recently, Cruise announced that he would be teaming up with The Odyssey's Anne Hathaway on a long-awaited Days of Thunder 2, which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2028. But before that, there's the small matter of his first non-franchise film since 2017's American Made, the satirical black comedy Digger, which hits theaters on October 2, 2026. Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu in his first English-language film since his 2015 hit The Revenant, the film will be looking to make an impact in next year's Oscars race.