Tom Cruise jumps from helicopter to thank fans for Top Gun: Maverick’s success

‘As always, thank you for allowing us to entertain you’

Tom Cruise jumped off a helicopter to thank his fans for his film Top Gun: Maverick’s theatrical success.

The 60-year-old actor attempted the stunt right before the 2022 film made its way to the Paramount+ streaming network.

Top Gun: Maverick is Paramount Pictures’s biggest hit this year, having grossed a total of $1.4bn worldwide.

To thank his fans, Cruise attempted a solo freefall dive over the ocean in South Africa.

“Hey everyone, Here we are over sunny South Africa,” Cruise said right before the jump. “And we’re filming Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning parts one and two.

“I didn’t want the year to end without thanking you all for coming out to the theaters, and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick,” he added.

The actor also introduced Dead Reckoning writer and director Christopher McQuarrie sitting next to him in the helicopter.

“Listen we really gotta roll, we gotta get this shot,” McQuarrie tells Cruise.

“Oh ya, we’re filming. We gotta get this shot. Are you coming?” Cruise responded.

“Not on your life. Good luck,” McQuarrie responded, to which Cruise said: “We’ll see you down there.”

The Jack Reacher star then jumped off and began free-falling through the sky.

“As always, thank you for allowing us to entertain you. It truly is the honour of a lifetime,” Cruise said during his fall.

“Very lucky. I’m running out of altitude, so I better get back to work. We gotta get this shot. You have a very safe and happy holiday. We’ll see you at the movies.”

Following its release in May, Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick received positive reviews from critics and fans.

You can read The Independent’s four-star review of the blockbuster here.