Home » Movies » Top Gun: Maverick Explodes With a $248 million Opening Weekend

Top Gun: Maverick Explodes With a $248 million Opening Weekend

BY Anthony Odu May 29, 2022

Top Gun: Maverick soared to a $248 million global opening weekend, breaking the record for the highest-grossing film in the domestic market for Memorial Day weekend and becoming the greatest launch of a Tom Cruise film at the box office. The positive reviews of the movie may have played a part.

With a $124 million bow, the North American market accounted for half of the worldwide premiere, while 62 overseas markets combined to earn the same sum spanning upwards of 25 thousand screens, the biggest overseas release in Paramount’s history. The studio expects the film to gross $151 million domestically by the end of the four-day holiday weekend in North America.

Tom Cruise Surpasses His Personal Best Opening With Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick Source: The Hollywood Reporter

This weekend, Tom Cruise broke his own personal greatest box office records, with Skydance and Paramount’s PARA +4.7 percent. Top Gun: Maverick flew to infinity and beyond during the Memorial Day weekend. The Joseph Kosinski-directed sequel, which again starred Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, and Jon Hamm, grossed $124 million from Friday through Sunday. The picture will make about $151 million between Friday and Monday, making it the second-largest Memorial Day weekend opening behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End ($128 million/$153 million in 2007). Given the excitement (including an A+ from Cinemascore).

The sequel to 1986’s “Top Gun” blasted off with $124 million at the international box office, an astounding figure given that the film isn’t showing in critical regions such as China and Russia. Top Gun: Maverick grossed a total of $248 million worldwide. Top Gun: Maverick is Cruise’s highest-grossing domestic premiere in his 40-year career and his first to generate more than $100 million in its first weekend. War of the Worlds previously held the record for Cruise’s largest opening weekend, grossing $64 million in 2005. Audiences over 40, who were top of mind when Paramount announced a new Top Gun came out in force (55% of ticket purchases). This is impressive given that this is the demographic that has been the most hesitant to return to theaters. Nonetheless, the spectacular feats in “Maverick” drew a sizable number of millennial moviegoers — 45 percent of them were 35 or younger — who were not alive when Top Gun debuted 36 years ago. Positive word of mouth about the film should help it continue to reach younger audiences.

The United Kingdom Does Best Among The International Market

Top Gun: Maverick Source: The Wrap

The United Kingdom won all overseas countries with a $19.4 million opening weekend from 735 theaters, more than doubling the amount collected by Mission: Impossible – Fallout, establishing the highest opening weekend for a Tom Cruise picture and the largest live action Paramount release. France grossed $11.7 million from 790 venues, outperforming No Time To Die ($9.6 million) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout ($8.6 million). Australia closes out the top three overseas countries for the film, each of which grossed more than $10 million, with a $10.7 million take from 343 screens—also ahead of No Time To Die ($8.2M) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout ($4.6M).

The rest of the international scene follows suit, with Top Gun: Maverick giving Tom Cruise his best opening weekend in 32 nations and becoming the highest-grossing film in the world. The strong start for “Top Gun: Maverick” is encouraging for the box office, which is still reeling from the ongoing pandemic. The picture pulled in older people, a desirable group that has been sluggish to return to theaters since they reopened in mid-2020.

According to EntTelligence, around 29 percent of tickets sold during the weekend were for screenings before 3 p.m. and 35 percent for films between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. This suggests that a major portion of ticket purchases were for matinée screenings, which elderly moviegoers prefer. Only 11% of tickets sold after-9 p.m. showings. According to Paramount research, 55% of moviegoers were above the age of 35.

Movies