Tom Cruise’s Forgotten Sci-Fi Movie From Top Gun: Maverick Director Is Leaving Netflix Soon

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If you’re a Tom Cruise fan, you’ll want to catch his earlier movie with Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski soon. The sci-fi action film is leaving Netflix shortly.

Netflix will remove the movie Oblivion from its streaming service on February 1, 2026. Released in 2013, the film was directed by and produced by Joseph Kosinski, with a screenplay co-written by Karl Gajdusek (known for Stranger Things) and Michael Arndt. Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper, a security technician stationed on a devastated Earth after an alien war. Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, and Melissa Leo also appear in the film.

In the year 2077, the film Oblivion follows Jack Harper as he nears the end of a long mission. Just two weeks away from joining other survivors at a distant colony, his life is unexpectedly altered when he saves a captivating woman who crash-landed on Earth. Her arrival throws him into a thrilling new quest with the future of humankind at stake.

The movie Oblivion intentionally echoed the style of 1970s science fiction. Though it featured a large-scale, post-apocalyptic world with exciting science fiction and action, it didn’t receive positive reviews or attract a large audience when it was released in 2013.

Honestly, when this movie came out, people were pretty divided. It’s sitting around 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews from over 250 critics. A lot of them praised how it looked – it’s a really visually impressive film – but they felt the story itself was a little weak. That said, most agreed it was a well-made movie overall, and Tom Cruise gave a fantastic performance, which definitely helped it out.

While the movie has generally been well-received by viewers, opinions are still somewhat divided. Over 100,000 Rotten Tomatoes users have given it a positive rating 61% of the time. The film also did reasonably well in theaters, earning $286 million worldwide on a $120 million budget.

Despite initial criticism, the film is gaining popularity with modern viewers. Recent comments on Rotten Tomatoes show audiences are actively praising it, with one user calling it “criminally underrated” and recommending ignoring the critics. Another viewer described it as a strong science fiction film, especially compared to recent releases, suggesting its quality has stood the test of time.

Cruise & Kosinski’s Top Gun Installment Proved to Be Much More Successful

Although Oblivion received somewhat mixed reactions, Tom Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski later achieved huge box office success together. In 2022, they teamed up again for Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel to the 1986 classic, with Cruise returning as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. The film was a critical darling, and many reviewers considered it even better than the original.

Top Gun: Maverick was a huge commercial success, earning $1.496 billion globally and becoming the second-highest-grossing movie of the year. It’s also Tom Cruise’s most successful film ever, marking the first time one of his movies has surpassed $1 billion in earnings. A sequel is currently in the works.

Oblivion leaves Netflix on Feb. 1.

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2026-01-18 04:10