Tom Cruise’s big American hit “Top Gun: Maverick” has begun its box office flight, grossing $ 19.3 million on Thursday.
Thursday’s big transportation marks Paramount Pictures’ biggest preview and highest Memorial Day holiday preview. Of the $ 19.3 million, Imax screens accounted for $ 4.1 million, or 21.2% of the total. The figure marks the best mark for a Paramount title and a Tom Cruise movie, and is among the top 10 Imax results of all time.
The long-delayed sequel to 1986’s “Top Gun” could become the first $ 100 million Cruise film to open. Thanks to positive reviews, high expectations and a lot of nostalgia, “Top Gun: Maverick”, co-produced and co-funded by Skydance, is expected to raise $ 85 million to $ 100 million over the long Memorial Day weekend.
Paramount was originally supposed to open “Top Gun: Maverick” in the summer of 2020, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans and shuffled its takeoff. Two years later, the campaign pole finally premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where crowds of moviegoers lined up to see the star in action. During a lengthy discussion about his career at the festival, Cruise assured fans that “Maverick” was meant for the big screen. Unlike so many other big-budget films that were scheduled to be released during the pandemic, Cruise says its follow-up to “Top Gun” would never be released in streaming.
“I spent a lot of time with the theater owners. The people who serve the popcorn, the one who does this [happen], “He said. He also called the owners of the theater to say,” Please know what you are going through. You just know we’re doing “Mission: Impossible” and “Top Gun” is coming out.
Simply put, “I make movies for the big screen,” Cruise said.
For those avoiding the danger zone, the Disney and 20th Century movie “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” also premieres this weekend. The animated comedy, based on the popular Fox series, grossed $ 1.5 million in previews on Thursday, and is expected to earn between $ 10 million and $ 15 million at its opening.