section_path: Acting career/2000s: Established career
section_name: 2000s: Established career
paragraph_text: 2000s: Established career
  
  In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the Mission: Impossible films, Mission: Impossible 2. The film was helmed by Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his gun fu style; it continued the series' success at the box office, taking in $547 million worldwide. Unlike its predecessor, it was the highest-grossing film of the year, but had a mixed critical reception. Cruise received an MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance for the film.
  
  His next five films were major critical and commercial successes. The following year, Cruise starred in the romantic thriller Vanilla Sky (2001) with Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz. In 2002, Cruise starred in the dystopian science fiction action film Minority Report, which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the short story by Philip K. Dick. It has since been included in lists of the greatest science fiction films of all time.
  
  In 2003, he starred in Edward Zwick 's period action drama The Last Samurai, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor. In 2004, Cruise received critical acclaim for his performance as Vincent in Collateral. The critical consensus states that "Driven by director Michael Mann 's trademark visuals and a lean, villainous performance from Tom Cruise, Collateral is a stylish and compelling noir thriller." In 2005, Cruise worked again with Steven Spielberg in War of the Worlds, a loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel of the same name, which became the fourth highest-grossing film of the year with $591.4 million worldwide. Also in 2005, he was a nominee for the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Movie Star and the winner of the MTV Generation Award. Cruise was nominated for seven Saturn Awards between 2002 and 2009, winning once. Nine of the ten films he starred in during the decade made over $100 million at the box office.
  
  In 2006, he returned to his role as Ethan Hunt in the third installment of the Mission Impossible film series, Mission: Impossible III. The film was more positively received by critics than the previous films in the series and grossed nearly $400 million at the box office. In 2007, Cruise took a rare supporting role for the second time in Lions for Lambs, which was a commercial disappointment. This was followed by an unrecognizable appearance as "Les Grossman" in the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. This performance earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. Cruise played the central role in the historical thriller Valkyrie released on December 25, 2008, to box office success.
  
  In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the Mission: Impossible films, Mission: Impossible 2. The film was helmed by Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his gun fu style; it continued the series' success at the box office, taking in $547 million worldwide. Unlike its predecessor, it was the highest-grossing film of the year, but had a mixed critical reception. Cruise received an MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance for the film.
  
  His next five films were major critical and commercial successes. The following year, Cruise starred in the romantic thriller Vanilla Sky (2001) with Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz. In 2002, Cruise starred in the dystopian science fiction action film Minority Report, which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the short story by Philip K. Dick. It has since been included in lists of the greatest science fiction films of all time.
  
  In 2003, he starred in Edward Zwick 's period action drama The Last Samurai, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for best actor. In 2004, Cruise received critical acclaim for his performance as Vincent in Collateral. The critical consensus states that "Driven by director Michael Mann 's trademark visuals and a lean, villainous performance from Tom Cruise, Collateral is a stylish and compelling noir thriller." In 2005, Cruise worked again with Steven Spielberg in War of the Worlds, a loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel of the same name, which became the fourth highest-grossing film of the year with $591.4 million worldwide. Also in 2005, he was a nominee for the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Movie Star and the winner of the MTV Generation Award. Cruise was nominated for seven Saturn Awards between 2002 and 2009, winning once. Nine of the ten films he starred in during the decade made over $100 million at the box office.
  
  In 2006, he returned to his role as Ethan Hunt in the third installment of the Mission Impossible film series, Mission: Impossible III. The film was more positively received by critics than the previous films in the series and grossed nearly $400 million at the box office. In 2007, Cruise took a rare supporting role for the second time in Lions for Lambs, which was a commercial disappointment. This was followed by an unrecognizable appearance as "Les Grossman" in the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. This performance earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. Cruise played the central role in the historical thriller Valkyrie released on December 25, 2008, to box office success.