“Top Gun: Maverick” from Paramount/Skydance achieved a milestone over Labor Day weekend that had been anticipated for months: $700 million in American box office receipts. Between Friday and Monday, the movie sold 7.9 million tickets, increasing its domestic box office receipts to $701 million.
The Tom Cruise blockbuster has now surpassed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936 million) and joined the ranks of “Avengers: Endgame,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and “Avatar,” which are among the top 5 highest grossing movies in North America before accounting for inflation.
Fifth place might be the highest the chart position for “Top Gun: Maverick” rises due to “Avatar” receiving a re-release on September 23 ahead of its eagerly anticipated sequel “The Way of Water.” Nevertheless, the movie managed to surpass its Memorial Day weekend-record $160.5 million 4-day opening and stay in the top 5 for all but one of the last 15 weekends by capitalizing on its immense popularity, a devoted fanbase, and poor competition in the second half of the summer.
Additionally, “Maverick” might experience a resurgence if it grants the wishes of its supporters and secures a Best Picture nomination for the upcoming Academy Awards. “Maverick” has attained that elusive position among moviegoers as a movie that must be watched numerous times on the biggest screen possible, even though awards season re-releases aren’t usually assured to make significant income.
It would surely return to the forefront of popular culture with a Best Picture nomination, which would spark fresh interest in what will be a slow post-holiday time.
With almost $1.44 billion in worldwide revenue, “Top Gun: Maverick” is Paramount’s second-highest-grossing film ever, after only “Titanic.” It is presently ranked number 12 on the all-time global list, barely below “Frozen II’s” $1.45 billion total after passing “Avengers: Age of Ultron” earlier this month.
