Critics and public agree: it took many years of waiting, but Top Gun Maverick was a hit. In the first weekend at the box office, the film starring once again the stainless Tom Cruise took home as much as 124 million dollars in North America alone, divided between 4,732 cinemas that screened it. Projections indicate that even today, which is a holiday in the US (Memorial Day), the proceeds should amount to 151 million dollars.
It’s almost a record for Memorial Day weekend, but it’s not enough to beat the third Pirates of the Caribbean (at the edge of the world), which totaled $ 153 million in 2007. However, Tom Cruise can be consoled by knowing that he is the most successful film starring him in his very long career, which has now exceeded 40 years of longevity. His previous record was War of the Worlds, with $ 64 million in the first weekend (again just considering North America). “Maverick” is therefore also the first film to cross the $ 100 million mark on its debut.
The result was more than excellent too internationally: another 124 million dollars. It should be noted that the film has skipped the screening in two important markets such as the Russian and the Chinese one. Apparently the film attracted mainly spectators over 40 to the cinema (55% of tickets purchased). The undertaking was uncertain because although the film was aimed, for obvious reasons, precisely at them, until now they had been very reluctant to return to the cinema after the pandemic. That said, the solid action sequences managed to win over quite a few millennials and people under 35, who in fact weren’t even born yet when the first, seminal Top Gun came out.
Maverick is one of the most successful post-pandemic films; it is worth mentioning in the top positions (North American market only, and regular weekend only):
- Spider-Man: No Way Home with 260 million
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with 187 million
- The Batman with 134 million
For Paramount it is also the fifth success in a row, after Sonic 2, The Lost City, Scream and Jackass Forever, with 182, 102, 81 and 57 million dollars respectively. And, as we said, the reviews from both the public and critics are excellent: Certified Fresh (Tomatometer 96% out of 325 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes and 99% public appreciation, 78 points of critics (62 reviews, weighted average) and 9 out of 10 from the audience on Metacritic.
