Cameron Diaz, once the queen of the romantic comedy and a fixture in big-budget action films, has made a striking return to the spotlight after more than a decade away from Hollywood. Her latest project, Back in Action, released on Netflix in 2023, marked her first acting role since 2014’s Annie. While critics gave Back in Action a chilly reception, audiences tuned in en masse, making the film a viewership hit despite its poor reviews, according to Collider.
But Diaz’s comeback hasn’t been limited to new material. Her earlier work is enjoying a surprising resurgence on streaming platforms, with the 2010 action-comedy Knight and Day—starring Diaz alongside Tom Cruise—cracking the Prime Video top 10 domestically on October 8, 2025. FlixPatrol data cited by Collider shows that Knight and Day climbed even higher the following day, overtaking the animated juggernaut The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Meanwhile, Diaz’s breakout film The Mask also found itself in the streaming limelight, landing at number nine on Netflix’s charts during the same period.
Knight and Day, directed by James Mangold, was a significant moment in Diaz’s career. Produced on a reported budget of around $115 million, the film grossed over $260 million worldwide, making it Diaz’s highest-grossing film in the past 15 years. The movie’s enduring popularity is a testament to the chemistry between Diaz and Cruise, as well as Mangold’s deft directorial touch. While Knight and Day received mixed reviews—its Rotten Tomatoes score currently sits at 51 percent—the consensus acknowledges its “breezy pace and a pair of charming performances from Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz,” offering “some agreeably middle-of-the-road summer action.”
Diaz’s filmography in the years surrounding Knight and Day also boasts impressive box office numbers. She headlined the raunchy comedy Bad Teacher, which raked in over $200 million globally, and starred in The Other Woman, which approached the same mark. Her supporting role in The Green Hornet added another $230 million to her box office tally. However, her last film before her initial retirement, the 2014 remake of Annie (which also featured Jamie Foxx), underperformed by comparison, grossing around $80 million worldwide.
While Diaz’s return has been met with excitement from fans, her co-stars and collaborators have also continued to make waves in the industry. Tom Cruise, her Knight and Day co-lead, recently starred in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The latest installment in the long-running franchise received critical praise but fell short of box office expectations. Still, the film is generating buzz in other ways. Burntwood Afternoon Cinema, a beloved community event in the UK, is set to screen Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning at Burntwood Memorial Hall at 2 p.m. on October 21, 2025. According to Lichfield Live, tickets are just £5, and attendees can expect “good company and a proper cuppa with biscuits from 1.30pm.” It’s a reminder that the big-screen experience, even for global blockbusters, still thrives in local communities.
Behind the scenes, the making of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning demonstrates the increasingly global nature of filmmaking. In a story published by The Hindu on October 11, 2025, it was revealed that some of the film’s most jaw-dropping visual effects were crafted far from Hollywood’s traditional studios. Mayank Tiwari, a mining-engineer-turned-VFX-compositor from Ranchi, India, created the sequence where Tom Cruise’s character is trapped in a steel pod, helplessly watching nuclear missiles streak across the sky and cities erupt in fiery blasts. Tiwari, who worked from his modest apartment in Bengaluru’s Whitefield neighborhood, recalled, “I was in my shorts, sipping chai, compositing the missile launches, the explosions and the whole sequence that was CGI.” His story highlights how the magic of blockbuster cinema can unfold in the most unexpected places—sometimes even from a swivel chair in an Indian apartment.
Meanwhile, director James Mangold, who helmed Knight and Day, has also continued to climb the creative ladder. His most recent project, the Oscar-nominated music biopic A Complete Unknown, has earned critical acclaim and further solidified his reputation as one of Hollywood’s most versatile directors.
As for Diaz, her fans have more to look forward to. She is set to reprise her beloved role as the voice of Princess Fiona in the upcoming Shrek 5, bringing her back to another iconic franchise that helped define her career. It seems that, despite a long hiatus, Diaz’s star power remains undimmed, with both new and old audiences eager to revisit her work—or discover it for the first time—on streaming platforms and beyond.
The renewed interest in Diaz’s filmography, especially Knight and Day, may be partly attributable to the enduring appeal of her on-screen partnership with Tom Cruise. Their dynamic in Knight and Day—equal parts action and comedic banter—offers a kind of escapist fun that’s hard to resist, even 15 years after the film’s initial release. And for those who missed it the first time around, or simply want to relive the thrill, it’s now just a click away on Prime Video.
It’s also worth noting the cyclical nature of pop culture nostalgia. Films that once seemed destined to fade into the background often resurface, finding new life with younger viewers or those seeking comfort in the familiar. The resurgence of The Mask on Netflix and Knight and Day on Prime Video is a clear example of this phenomenon. Streaming platforms, with their vast libraries and sophisticated recommendation algorithms, have become the new arbiters of what’s in vogue, sometimes elevating overlooked or underappreciated titles to newfound prominence.
For the communities that still cherish the shared cinema experience, events like Burntwood Afternoon Cinema’s screening of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning serve as a reminder that movies are more than just digital content—they’re occasions for gathering, conversation, and, yes, a proper cup of tea. And for the artists and technicians behind the scenes, like Mayank Tiwari in Bengaluru, the reach and impact of their work have never been greater, as Hollywood’s biggest spectacles are increasingly the product of global collaboration and digital wizardry.
With Cameron Diaz back in action and her classics climbing the streaming charts, and with local cinemas and international talent shaping the future of film, it’s an exciting time to be a movie lover—no matter where you’re watching from.
