Top Gun: Maverick is soaring even higher into the stratosphere as the sequel is on its way to becoming the fifth highest-grossing movie of all time. The film, which is a decades-later follow-up to the 1986 Tom Cruise hit Top Gun, features the star returning to the role of hotshot pilot Maverick. He is now in charge of teaching a brand-new crop of young pilots who are preparing for the mission of their lives. Maverick's new class includes Rooster Bradshaw (MIles Teller), the son of his former comrade, Goose, who died during the events of the original film. The rest of the ensemble cast includes Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, and Val Kilmer reprising the role of Iceman.
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While some may have thought that 36 years was too long to wait for a sequel to Top Gun, Maverick proved them all wrong with its titanic box office haul. Even in the pandemic era, where box office receipts have been notably wonky even for films that would once have been thought of as sure things, it has been consistently breaking records and climbing up the Top 10 list of the best-performing domestic films of all time. Unusually for a film with this kind of box office pull, the receipts have been more or less equal in domestic and international markets, with $700 million in the U.S. and $740 million internationally combining for a staggering worldwide gross of $1.44 billion at the time of writing, blowing the original Top Gun's $357.3 million gross out of the water, even when adjusted for inflation.
Per THR, this extremely slow Labor Day weekend box office, in which the only new release was the Sundance comedy Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul., is being led by a pair of sequels. The re-release of Spider-Man: No Way Home The More Fun Stuff Version took the #1 slot, but it was followed close behind by Top Gun: Maverick at #2 with an estimated $7 million four-day total. This will bring its cumulative domestic gross past $700 million, on track to become the fifth highest-grossing domestic film of all time.
Top Gun: Maverick will be pushing Black Panther from the domestic Top 5, as that film grossed $700.4 million in the United States. Box office analysts originally didn't think Maverick would be able to reach that goal, considering the fact that this is the film's 15tweekend in the box office and it has already been released digitally, another arena where Top Gun: Maverick has excelled, breaking the record for first-week sales. However, if the film wants to keep climbing, it will have to make another huge leap, earning an additional $60 million to trounce Avatar's $760.5 million domestic gross.
Top Gun: Maverick has so far proven that its success cannot be underestimated. It will likely continue its staggering run in the Top 5 through the rest of the month, as there is a dearth of new wide-release films on the way. It's not until the final two weekends of the month that the film will be faced with some major competition, from Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling, the LGBTQ+ rom-com Bros, and the supernatural shocker Smile.