Top Gun: Maverick broke another record thanks to its home media release, as it became the best-selling digital movie in its first week of availability. Tom Cruise returned to his iconic role as Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell after over 30 years to make a long-awaited Top Gun sequel. Despite multiple delays due to COVID-19, Cruise and Paramount held off on pushing the film to a streaming service to ensure a theatrical release. Top Gun: Maverick shattered box-office records once it arrived this summer and earned rave reviews from critics and general audiences alike. The movie has become a phenomenon in Hollywood thanks to its enduring popularity.
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The record-breaking nature of Top Gun: Maverick began with its opening weekend, when it set a new record for Memorial Day weekend. It went on to become Cruise's first-ever billion-dollar movie. With over $1.4 billion earned over 14 weeks, Top Gun: Maverick continues to be a significant performer. The film has only dipped out of the top 5 for a weekend once. This is due to a combination of lacking competition throughout the summer, and audiences' love of Top Gun: Maverick and desire to see the sequel multiple times. The great word of mouth and rewatchability has now helped Cruise's movie break another record.
Following the film's first week of being available to buy digitally, Paramount Home Entertainment announced that Top Gun: Maverick is the #1 week-one digital sell-through title of all time in the United States and several other major international territories. To put it another way, Top Gun: Maverick's first week of digital sales is the biggest of all time, and the movie is also already one of the Top 20 best-selling digital releases in history after its first week of release. Top Gun: Maverick's success is partially attributed to the movie becoming the top-selling item on Amazon.com across every category on its first day of release.
Top Gun: Maverick's digital release, now available across all major digital platforms, is the first chance for audiences to check out the bonus content Paramount included in the home release. With over 110 minutes of extras and behind-the-scenes content, viewers can gain even more insight into how the film was made and what went into Cruise's return. Beyond another trip to the theaters, digital is the only alternative way to watch Top Gun: Maverick right now. No streaming release date for Paramount+ has been announced, and the 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD physical release is not until November 1.
The latest record broken by Top Gun: Maverick is another sign of just how much people love Tom Cruise's movie. The thrilling, action-packed blockbuster is clearly still entertaining people at home, whether it is their first time or a rewatch. This also means that Cruise's insane pay for Top Gun: Maverick will increase, as the star reportedly gets a cut of the home media sales, too. Since the movie is also breaking records in this medium, there is no doubt that the wait was worth it for Cruise. Meanwhile, this will likely only continue to generate more interest in seeing a Top Gun: Maverick sequel eventually.