Tom Cruise’s 2017 action flop The Mummy is now the #4 most-streamed movie on Prime Video, a decade after the film misfired in theaters. The reboot was meant to launch Universal Studios’ “Dark Universe” franchise, but that plan collapsed before it ever truly began.
The film’s streaming resurgence gives audiences a second chance to see one of Cruise’s rare misfires — and they’re apparently taking it.
The Mummy’s Failed Launch
The Mummy was a conceptual mess from the very beginning. Rather than being a stunning re-imagining of the franchise — which originated during Universal’s monster movie era in the 1930s, and was at its peak when Brendan Fraser was the lead — the film was meant to serve as a proof of concept for the studio’s proposed “Dark Universe” reboot of their old monster properties.
That plan went nowhere.
Among the four films carrying the title The Mummy, the version starring Tom Cruise manages to rank as the weakest of all.
Nick Morton, a sergeant in the U.S. Army played by Cruise, stumbles into bringing the ancient Egyptian Princess Ahmanet back from the dead during a supernatural action-adventure. The sorceress was mummified, and she comes back with unspeakable power and unparalleled vengeance she intends to unleash upon the modern world. Morton becomes supernaturally bound to the titular villain, and he gradually starts his own monstrous transformation.
Morton wanders into a world far larger than he ever expected, one filled with terror, and The Mummy follows the fight for his soul.
What Went Wrong on Screen
The film’s voice never quite settles into anything worth noting. It attempts to cover far too many bases at once, and nothing comes together in the end.
Within roughly two hours, the film directed by Alex Kurtzman fails to decide what it’s aiming for. It could be a Tom Cruise action picture. It could be a horror movie at points. It could also be the beginning of a larger universe. And it might be a comedy, though that’s hard to say.
The film’s identity crisis was fatal. It failed with critics, and the Dark Universe idea was destroyed at once. Universal had hoped to follow the plan of Disney and Warner Bros., building a Marvel-style franchise from its most famous monster films. That plan instead crashed and burned entirely.
| Film | Role in Dark Universe |
|---|---|
| Dracula Untold | Soft introduction (failed) |
| The Mummy | Official launch (failed) |
Prime Video Audiences Are Finally Curious
After a decade of indifference, Prime Video viewers appear to have finally grown curious about Tom Cruise, even if they haven’t yet fully embraced him.
That the film has found renewed life on streaming is remarkable, considering how thoroughly it was dismissed. For years, The Mummy has served as a joke — a warning about studios reaching too far in the wake of Marvel’s success. Every major studio was chasing its own Cinematic Universe, and Universal’s effort with its classic monsters stood among the most visible failures.
That era’s relics include The Mummy, a film built on big-name stars, rich mythology, and an action-comedy tone that never fully takes hold.
The Dark Universe Collapse
Universal first attempted a “soft” introduction with Dracula Untold, but that film didn’t live up to the shared universe standards the studio hoped to achieve. When The Mummy arrived, it was supposed to be the real launch.
It wasn’t.
The studio’s grand scheme to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe fell apart right away. The concept looked sound on paper. Reality proved otherwise.
The Dark Universe concept died because The Mummy failed so badly that it went nowhere. The shared universe dream was over.
Cruise’s Rare Misfire
Tom Cruise has one of the most reliable track records in Hollywood. Between hit franchises like Mission: Impossible and Top Gun and action smashes like Edge of Tomorrow and Jack Reacher, it’s rare to find a Cruise outing that’s disappointing.
Success streaks dip sometimes.
The Mummy stands as one of Cruise’s worst movies, a rare blemish on a career defined by box-office dominance. The film’s tonal confusion was too much to overcome. It tries to balance supernatural horror, action spectacle, comedy, and universe-building — and fails at all of them.
A Strange Second Life
The #4 ranking on Prime Video shows that audiences are finally curious about the film. A decade after its release, viewers are giving Cruise the time of day.
The Mummy remains a strange artifact of its moment. It was ambitious and completely hollow. Every element that should have worked — Cruise’s star power, Boutella’s presence, Universal’s monster legacy — failed to cohere into something watchable.
The film’s streaming resurgence doesn’t rewrite its history. It just gives a new audience the chance to see what all the fuss was about.
Before it could escape the shadows, everything it attempted to construct had already collapsed and failed.
The Mummy is a fascinating relic of an era where every major studio was desperate for its own Marvel-style franchise, complete with big-name stars, rich mythology, and an action-comedy feel. Universal aimed to follow Disney and Warner Bros. with its most iconic movie monsters — and on paper, the idea made sense. In practice, however, it’s no wonder that this entire concept died on impact. It’s too bad the end result felt so rushed.
If you’re looking for a modern take on the Egyptian monster, you’re probably better off waiting for the next Brendan Fraser movie.
The Mummy is available for streaming on Prime Video.
Source: collider.com
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