Worst Tom Cruise Movie of All Time Is a 1988 Film With an 11% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Tom Cruise as a bartender flipping cocktails? Whatever could go wrong? A lot, as it turns out, at least according to audiences.
The 1988 Cruise movie Cocktail scored worst on a list published by Metacritic. There's a caveat, though. Audiences flocked to the movie when it first came out, probably because Cruise was such a beloved box office star, coming off the success of Top Gun, which premiered two years earlier. However, it hasn't fared well since.
"A film that earned Tom Cruise a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor, Cocktail was largely panned by critics but was a financial success at the box office," the site noted. "Cruise stars as a New York City bartender who takes his impressive skills to a Jamaican bar and falls in love with an artist (Elisabeth Shue)."
The Hollywood Reporter also ranked Cocktail as Cruise's worst film.
One Major Site Found Tom Cruise's Movie 'Cocktail' Unintentionally Hilarious
THR didn't have kind things to say about Cocktail. "Need an exercise in willpower this week? See how long you can look at Cruise's inexplicably serious expression on the poster for this movie about 'flair' bartenders without laughing," the Hollywood trade magazine wrote.
The movie earned only an 11% positive ranking from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. "Brian Flanagan (Tom Cruise) wants a high-paying marketing job, but needs a business degree first. Working as a bartender to pay for college, Flanagan is mentored by his veteran boss, Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown)," that site describes the plot. "Together, their showy tricks and charisma command large crowds and tip payments -- until Flanagan and the cynical Coughlin have a falling out. Flanagan moves to Jamaica to raise enough money to open his own bar, where he falls in love with artist Jordan Mooney (Elisabeth Shue)."
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the critics' consensus is not kind: "There are no surprises in Cocktail, a shallow, dramatically inert romance that squanders Tom Cruise's talents in what amounts to a naive barkeep's banal fantasy."
However, some audience members liked it better than the critics, although it still only managed a 58% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. "A classic 80's film. Amazing music. Powerful acting performances. Gritty and realistic. Full of fun but also serious moments when needed," wrote one person on the Rotten Tomatoes site.
However, another reader wrote, "There's little other than Cruise's smoothness to admire in this film and even he is reduced to that smile and far too many of his worst acting traits - the faux tantrums that have never convinced the camera."
And another fan noted, "This movie is all over the place and really can't stick to what it wants the audience to know and the development of Tom Cruises character is just awful in my opinion. Overall this movie just lacks in lots of areas."
Other Sites Ranked the Worst Tom Cruise Movie Ever Differently
Cruise has a lengthy list of movies to choose from, so it's probably not surprising that other sites chose a different movie for his worst ever.
- Collider rankedLions for Lambs as the worst Cruise movie.
- IMDb choseFar and Away as Cruise's worst film.
- Business Insider chose Rock of Ages.
- Endless Love was named Cruise's worst on Ranker and Rolling Stone.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 8:30 PM.