The ultimate movie star has long been an advocate for the theatrical experience.

Tom Cruise treats AMC workers to *Odyssey *screening — and joins them to watch: ‘An amazing night in a movie theater’

The ultimate movie star has long been an advocate for the theatrical experience.

By Rance Collins

July 18, 2026 12:03 p.m. ET

Tom Cruise; Matt Damon in ‘The Odyssey’. Credit:

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

- Tom Cruise surprised AMC workers with an IMAX screening of *The Odyssey*, after he was late to a scheduled appearance.

- Cruise joined the team to watch the movie, noting on Instagram, “I can’t wait to see it again!”

- The *Magnolia* star has long been an advocate for film and movie theaters.

Some audiences at New York City’s AMC Lincoln Square were disappointed when ultimate movie star Tom Cruise didn’t show up at a Wednesday night IMAX screening of *The Odyssey*, as promised, per Page Six and confirmed to ** by Cruise’s representatives. But that wasn’t the end of this tale.

The *Digger *star had been delayed by a thunderstorm, and he did finally make it to Manhattan at 10:45 p.m., long after that screening was over. So, instead, he surprised the workers at the AMC theater with a rare treat, the outlet reported.

He gathered all of the employees, including those in the concession area and those cleaning up the venue, into an IMAX theater to watch the new Christopher Nolan epic with him.

Cruise was enthusiastic about his cinematic experience, posting on Instagram, “Wow! To Chris, Emma, and ALL of your brilliant cast and crew. Thank you for an amazing night in a movie theater. I can’t wait to see it again!”

Cruise, who is one of the only movie stars of the modern era to quite literally never, EVER appear as an actor in an episode of a television series (check the receipts), has been a vocal advocate of watching films in a theater.

“Seeing a movie on the big screens can change lives,” Cruise said in a video screened at CinemaCon in 2025. “The cultural impact of movie theaters can’t be matched… the story of cinema is an iconic one, but it’s only just begun.”

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He went viral in 2023 during the promotion for *Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One* for professing his love of popcorn as well, saying succinctly in a video posted to his social media, “I love my popcorn. Movies. Popcorn.”

In 2025, X user @mikeryan posted a photo of Cruise chatting up employees at the same AMC theater in Manhattan where he just pulled off his *Odyssey *screening, captioning, “Tom Cruise has been talking to the employees at AMC Lincoln Square for 15 minutes now.”

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Responding to this post, @RachelLeishman shared, “I’ll use this time to talk about the absolutely insane information Tom Cruise gave in his pre-screening speech. First, he asked us all not once but twice if we had popcorn (I showed him my bucket to confirm) and then he goes ‘I normally eat two big buckets myself during a movie.’”

At the New York premiere of *Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning *in 2025, the *Magnolia *actor vowed to make movies into his 100s.

“I will never stop. I will never stop doing action, I will never stop doing drama, comedy films — I’m excited,” he told *The Hollywood Reporter**.*

Tom Cruise at CinemaCon in April 2026.

David Becker/Getty

“There’s been so many levels of reward with the filmmakers that I’ve collaborated with, the crews, the people, the cultures that we’ve worked in,” he said, speaking specifically of the *Mission: Impossible* teams. “Everything that I’ve learned and continue to learn about storytelling, about life, about leadership, about character, and every aspect of filmmaking.… It’s been exceptional, it really is exceptional ... I feel very fortunate to be able to make the films that I make, and I love it. I love just making movies.”

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Source: “EW Drama”