Top Gun: Maverick grossed $ 248 million worldwide in its opening weekend, offering hope to movie theater owners struggling with a summer box office revival after two meager years caused by the pandemic of coronavirus and the proliferation of streaming services.
The action thriller, a sequel to the 1986 film That Made Tom Cruise One of Hollywood’s Biggest Stars, has been hailed by critics as a classic summer popcorn movie. Cruise won its first opening weekend of $ 100 million, thanks in part to the actor’s relentless promotional efforts, which included appearances in San Diego, Cannes and London, where the screening featured the presence of Prince William and Kate, as well as Japan.
The film was number one at the box office in the United States and around the world, grossing $ 124 million in its first three days in U.S. theaters and $ 124 million more internationally, Paramount said. Manufacturing cost about $ 150 million.
The strong opening claimed the decisions of Paramount Pictures and producer Skydance to stop the release of the film for two years. Rival studios, such as Warner Bros. and Disney, chose to release some of their most anticipated titles on broadcast services during the outbreak, giving up a larger film release.
But Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the two Top Gun films, insisted that the sequel be released in theaters to show action sequences with jet stunts. The film’s premiere on a streaming platform “would never happen,” Cruise said at Cannes, where he received an honorary Palme d’Or.
“We have always believed in theater [releases] and that only confirms it, “Marc Weinstock, Paramount’s head of global marketing and distribution, told the Financial Times.” The theater is not dead; that’s a big deal. ”
The pandemic box office has been supported by a younger audience that has gathered to watch superhero movies such as Spider Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Batman.
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But the audience for Top Gun: Maverick has been wider, with young people joining the larger audience who were fans of the original film 36 years ago. “Our largest individual audience was 18-24,” Weinstock said. “Much of our marketing was targeted at younger audiences. We knew the older audience already had it on their list.”
In the United States, ticket sales for the first four months of the year were down 40% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
The performance of Top Gun: Maverick may raise studio hopes as they prepare for other high-profile releases, many of them also sequels, this year. Universal’s Jurassic World: Dominion premieres on June 10, followed by Disney’s Lightyear, a sequel to the Toy Story series.
“If you think the movies are dead, go see Top Gun: Maverick,” IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement. “This film heralds the return of summer blockbuster and is a catalyst that will accelerate the demand for cinema as an F-18 breaking the sound barrier.”