LOS ANGELES, May 29 (Variety.com) – Tom Cruise may have achieved one of the most daring stunts of his career: getting the audience to go to the movies for something that doesn’t involve superheroes.
“Top Gun: Maverick” boosted ticket sales in its first weekend, grossing $ 134 million from a record 4,732 U.S. theaters. The American action adventure of Paramount and Skydance is expected to raise $ 151 million by Monday, defying expectations and setting a new record for Memorial Day opening weekends. That’s thanks to dazzling reviews, accumulated doses of nostalgia, and getting Cruise back in the cabin to perform real aerial stunts like pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is Cruise’s highest-grossing debut in 40 years and the first to surpass $ 100 million on opening weekend. “War of the Worlds,” which opened with $ 64 million in 2005, was previously Cruise’s most important opening weekend.
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Audiences over 40, the people who were the most important when Paramount gave the green light to a sequel to “Top Gun” in 1986, came out strong, which is impressive because this demographic has been the most reluctant to return to cinemas. The film’s positive word of mouth should be useful in reaching younger audiences, who weren’t alive when “Top Gun” premiered 36 years ago.
David A. Gross, who directs film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research, called the film’s three-day figure “exceptional.”
“The original material is still strong, the workmanship is excellent and Tom Cruise makes it work flawlessly well,” he says.
“Top Gun: Maverick” continues a stellar box office streak for Paramount, marking the studio’s fifth film to be released for the first time this year. Without the help of comics or furious dinosaurs, the 2022 studio blackboard, which also features “Sonic the Hedgehog” ($ 182 million in North America), “The Lost City” ($ 100 million in North America), “Scream” ($ 81). million in North America) and “Jackass Forever” ($ 57 million in North America) – has resonated in theaters. It’s an impressive boost as Paramount barely released any films during the pandemic, instead sending out big titles like “The Tomorrow War” by Chris Pratt, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” by director Aaron Sorkin and “Coming 2 America “by Eddie Murphy on streaming services.
American actor Tom Cruise arrives at the premiere of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ in London, UK, on May 19, 2022. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls / File Photo
Despite countless delays (the “Top Gun” sequel was scheduled to open in the summer of 2020 until COVID-19 shuffled those plans), Cruise insisted that “Maverick” not follow in their footsteps. movies. The two-year wait has already begun to bear fruit since the film was enthusiastically reviewed. It has 97% Rotten Tomatoes and a CinemaScore “A +”.
Joseph Kosinski directed the PG-13 “Top Gun: Maverick,” which picks up decades after the original and sees Maverick train a new group of arrogant aviators for a crucial task. The cast includes Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly and Val Kilmer, who played Iceman in the first “Top Gun.”
“Top Gun: Maverick” also needs movie theaters to justify its high $ 170 million production budget, which doesn’t include the tens of millions spent on promoting the film to audiences around the world. These efforts included a splendid premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, culminating in eight fighter jets flying over the Croisette (paid for by the French government). Skydance Media co-produced and co-financed the film.
Just one movie, Disney and “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” of the 20th century, was brave enough to open against “Top Gun: Maverick.” For a film that is based on a full-length animated television show, “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” grossed an impressive $ 12 million from 3,425 places, enough for third place on the box office charts. The film is expected to end Memorial Day with $ 15.3 million.
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” landed just behind “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which dropped to No. 2 after three weeks on the national box office charts. Disney’s new Marvel Cinematic Universe installment was down 50% to add $ 16 million from 3,805 theaters in its fourth weekend release. The sequel to Superhero, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, has grossed $ 375 million so far.
At No. 4, “Downton Abbey: A New Era” fell 63 percent since its opening, grossing $ 5.9 million between Friday and Sunday. It is estimated to earn $ 7.5 million from 3,830 theaters by Monday. After two weeks in theaters, the sequel to the big-screen sequel to the beloved British television show, has grossed $ 30 million in North America and $ 68.9 million worldwide. The production of the next film cost $ 40 million, which means that the latest adventure of “Downton” has a lot to go through before going into black.
Universal’s animated robbery “The Bad Guys” topped the top five with $ 4.6 million from 2,944 locations. On Monday, the family film is expected to gross $ 6.1 million, bringing its national revenue to $ 82 million.
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