Top Gun: Maverick has officially taken down Black Panther in yet another box office record. Originally released in May, Top Gun: Maverick has continued its theatrical run in locations across the U.S. even as September rolls in. Competing with other blockbuster films such as Jurassic World Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru, Maverick has still reigned supreme as the highest grossing movie of 2022 by a long shot. It has broken multiple box office records along the way, including the highest grossing Memorial Day weekend release and the highest grossing opening weekend for a Tom Cruise film, and becoming the second film to reach $1 billion worldwide box office since 2019.
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Earlier this holiday weekend, Top Gun: Maverick was expected to achieve yet another box office milestone. Top Gun: Maverick became the top movie during the Labor Day box office, beating out Spider-Man: No Way Home The More Fun Stuff Version. Top Gun: Maverick’s four-day total was estimated to be $7 million, which would bring the film’s total domestic box office up to $700 million. With this total, Maverick was bearing in on the title of fifth highest grossing film in North America of all time. The title was previously held by Black Panther, whose total North American box office came in at $700.4 million.
As per Variety, Top Gun: Maverick has now achieved this projected record, surpassing the record of Black Panther. In addition to its other records, Top Gun: Maverick now holds the title of fifth highest grossing film in North America of all time. It joins only five other films in surpassing a $700 million North American box office. It shares this achievement with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avatar, and, of course, the now sixth-place film Black Panther.
Maverick’s new box office status is a starling record in the context of its run. Labor Day weekend marked Top Gun: Maverick’s 15th weekend in theaters. On average, films get 4-6 week theatrical runs, with some larger blockbuster films like Top Gun staying on longer than that. Even for films that run in a longer-than-standard release time, the bulk of the box office inertia is in the first few weeks of its run. Top Gun: Maverick, however, has defied odds throughout. Among its records, the film saw the smallest second-weekend box drop for any movie to open at over $100 million. Thus, Top Gun: Maverick’s momentum seems unmatched.
These startling records then beg the question of how far can Top Gun: Maverick go at the box office. Box office analysts have not predicted that it would set as crazy of records as it has throughout this process. Originally, passing Black Panther’s record was considered unlikely. However, now that it has done it, the possibilities seem further open for Top Gun: Maverick. With very little to compete with at the box office until films like Don't Worry Darling come out later this month, Top Gun: Maverick may just have a shot at continuing on with its rampant box office record. Perhaps it will be looking to overtake Avatar, the #4 North American box office gross, next.