Have you got that loving feeling? Paramount and Skydance sure have, as Top Gun: Maverick won the weekend with a reported $124 million three-day opening and an anticipated $151 million launch domestically over the four-day holiday weekend, which will make it the biggest Memorial Day opening ever.
The long-awaited sequel is now Tom Cruise's biggest opening ever and the first of his films to debut to over $100 million, which is an absolutely amazing accomplishment at this stage of his forty-year career.
The Joseph Kosinski-directed action blockbuster, which isn't playing in either China or Russia, is also performing quite well overseas and has essentially matched its domestic output with another $124 million. The film's worldwide total now sits at $248 million.
With a production budget of $172.5 million and $150 million in print and advertising, the film's reported break-even number is approximately $410 million, but based on this start, it seems quite probable that Maverick will soar past that figure with relative ease by the end of the summer.
The film's CinemaScore was revealed yesterday and the action blockbuster earned a highly coveted "A+," so word-of-mouth is exceedingly positive, and since it was able to keep its traditional 120-day theatrical window, should result in some extremely long legs through September
Meanwhile, Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had another strong weekend, with its worldwide sum now at $878 million ($375.4M domestic; $502.6M foreign).
Check out our exclusive interviews with director Joseph Kosinski and actor Glen Powell (Hangman) below:
In our review, we said, "Top Gun: Maverick is the must-see cinematic experience of the year! Packed with jaw-dropping aerial sequences, thrilling edge-of-your-seat moments, genuine heart, epic romance, huge stakes, and one of the absolute best performances of Tom Cruise's legendary career, this is the theatrical experience you've been waiting for."
Tom Cruise headlines the feature as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, with original co-star Val Kilmer returning as Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. The iconic pair are joined by an all-star supporting cast consisting of Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin, Miles Teller as Lt. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, Jon Hamm as Vice Admiral Cyclone, Glen Powell as Hangman, Lewis Pullman as Bob, Ed Harris as Rear Admiral, Monica Barbaro as Phoenix, Charles Parnell as Rear Admiral Warlock, Danny Ramirez as Fanboy, Manny Jacinto as Fritz, Bashir Salahuddin as Coleman, Jay Ellis as Payback, Jake Picking in an undisclosed role, Raymond Lee in an undisclosed role, Lyliana Wray as Amelia Benjamin, Jean Louisa Kelly as Carole Bradshaw, Greg Davis as Coyote, and Bob Stephenson in an undisclosed role.
Top Gun: Maverick is now play in theaters worldwide!
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of TOPGUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.”
Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.