BEIJING, May 12 -- Powerful Hollywood friends of Tom Cruise rallied to his defense on Wednesday as a new poll suggests the actor's odd behavior in recent months may have cost him and his film millions of dollars at the box office.     

Tom Cruise's fiancee Katie Holmes gave birth to a baby girl April 18, expanding the Cruise family to three. (file photo)

    Among the movie industry heavyweights offering personal testimonials to his talent and bankability were Universal Studios President Ron Meyer, veteran producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey, whose company released Cruise's latest film, "Mission: Impossible III."

    "Tom Cruise is one of the most important stars ever in the motion picture business," Ron Meyer, a close friend and former agent, told Reuters. "I don't know anybody who has had the consistent success rate that Tom has. And nobody should be counting him out."

    Grey added: "He is clearly, on a profit basis as well as a creative basis, one of the biggest stars in the world."

    Days after "Mission: Impossible III" opened to lower-than-expected domestic ticket sales, a USA Today/Gallup poll showed Cruise's star power in the eyes of the public has dimmed considerably.

    In the poll of 1,013 adults conducted during the film's first weekend in cinemas, 35 per cent registered a favourable opinion of Cruise, to 51 per cent with an unfavourable opinion.

    That's a major turnaround from last year, when Cruise's previous film, "War of the Worlds," opened and his poll ratings were 58 per cent favourable and 31 per cent unfavourable.

    USA Today reported that Cruise's popularity decline with women was also sharp, slipping from a 56 per cent favourable rating in 2005 to 35 percent now.

    The poll sparked an unusual public outpouring of solidarity from Cruise's friends in high places, who insisted his status and popularity were undiminished. And they disputed the notion that his latest film was commercially disappointing.