Top Gun: Maverick has surpassed world box office expectations by grabbing $ 248 million (£ 196 million) worldwide.
The film, which sees the return of Tom Cruise’s great pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, after the character first appeared in Top Gun in 1986, has received strong criticism and word of mouth. as well as a long, high profile. advertising boost.
This is the first time a 59-year-old Cruise film has surpassed the $ 100 million mark on its premiere weekend and made it the narrowest superhero-free film since the pandemic began. , after Spider-Man: No Way Home (£ 206 million). ), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with (£ 148 million) and The Batman (£ 106 million).
It also attracted a larger demographic than those Marvel and DC movies, with an estimated 55% of the audience over the age of 35.
About £ 151 million of the proceeds came from the United States, where the film was screened in a record 4,732 theaters. About 19,000 more sites around the world have reportedly been screening the film.
Top Gun: Maverick was originally scheduled to open in the summer of 2020, but was delayed several times due to the pandemic. Its marketing campaign began in 2019 and culminated last week with the appearance of Cruise at Cannes and a royal premiere in London.
Speaking at Cannes, where the film was screened and its star was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or, Cruise reiterated the vote of its producer Jerry Bruckheimer that the film would not be released in one place streaming.
“That would never happen,” Cruise said.
The first film was directed by Tony Scott with an estimated budget of $ 15 million, and resulted in a 500% year-over-year increase in hiring for the U.S. Navy’s aviation division.
The sequel was made by Joseph Kosinski with a budget 10 times larger than the original.
Cruise’s previous highest debut was Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, which opened at £ 51 million in 2005. The star has two Mission: Impossible films scheduled for release in 2023 and in 2024.