With little competition for the rest of the year,Top Gun: Maverickcontinues well on track to establish itself not only as 2022’s biggest film, but one of the most successful movies in the past decade after smashing past Marvel Studios’Avengers: Infinity War.
According toBox Office Mojo,Top Gun: Maverickhas beatenAvengers: Infinity War’s box office haul in the United States with a revenue of $679 million coming from American theaters, which when added up to its overseas earnings takes Tom Cruise’s blockbuster to a grand total $1.403 billion worldwide. This new commercial record comes exactly one month after theTop Gunsequel surpassed the firstAvengersmovie, while also leaving behind the likes ofTitanicandJurassic Park, at least when not accounting for inflation.
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Top Gun: Maverickcan be purchased digitallystarting August 23 on several platforms. Still, Paramount’s strategy of keeping the movie in cinema theaters as long as possible could see it beatBlack Panther’s $700 million tally next. The film’s success story has vindicated Cruise and the studio’s decision to hold offTop Gun’s release for as long as possible until the market conditions were suitable for a widespread and prolonged theatrical run.
Internationally, Maverick’s next two targets should beFrozen 2($1.450b),Furious 7($1.516b), and the originalThe Avengers($1.518b). All of these records were set with the clear advantage of being able to rely on the massive income generated by the Chinese box office, whose censors preventedTop Gun: Maverickfrom landing in mainland China. Regardless,Top Gun: Maverick’s stellar run in theaters could set an important precedent for future blockbusters.
The movie industry’s current trend has steered towards a shorter theatrical screening window, usually around the 45-day mark, whereas by nowTop Gun: Maverickhas now practically doubled that standard with plenty of money to back it up. All that, combined with Paramount’s reluctance to dropTop Gunon its streaming service means movie theaters are still the go-to option for most people wanting to experience or rewatch the film.
Unlessthe highly anticipatedBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, one of Marvel Studios' upcoming heavy hitters, or some other cinematic surprise pops up during the rest of the year, Cruise’s star power looks set to carryTop Gun: Maverickto the very top. Ultimately, that seems like the perfect prize for a sequel that does justice to Tony Scott’sTop Gun.
