‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Passes ‘The Avengers’ as Ninth-Highest Grossing Domestic Release in History

Rebecca Rubin
·2 min read
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Tom Cruise is flying past Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Paramount’s supersonic blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” has grossed $623.8 million in North America, overtaking “The Avengers” ($623.3 million) to become the ninth-highest grossing movie in domestic box office history.

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Industry experts believe the movie has enough gas in its tank to eventually pass the titles in seventh and eighth place, “Titanic” with $659 million and “Jurassic World” with $653 million.

For those counting, the top six slots belong to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936.6 million), “Avengers: Endgame” ($858.3 million), “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($804.7 million), “Avatar” ($760 million), “Black Panther” ($700 million) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($678 million). However, it’s unlikely that Maverick and crew will be able to mix and mingle in this company — at least in its initial box office run.

With another $620 million internationally, “Top Gun: Maverick” has generated a mammoth $1.24 billion at the global box office. On worldwide charts, the popular action sequel ranks among the top 20 biggest films of all time. The “Top Gun” follow-up is the first movie this year, and only second in the COVID era after “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” to hit the coveted billion-dollar mark. It’s also the only Cruise-led tentpole to ever smash that benchmark.

Thanks to stellar reviews and glowing word-of-mouth, “Top Gun: Maverick” has enjoyed remarkable legs at the box office. The film opened in theaters over Memorial Day weekend to $160.5 million, marking the first movie in Cruise’s 40-year career to surpass $100 million in a single weekend. In the following weeks, “Top Gun: Maverick” has continued to defy expectations, selling enough tickets to stay in the top five on weekend charts for eight weeks (and counting) and sustaining minimal week-to-week declines.

Cruise is being rewarded handsomely for his heroic efforts. When all is said and done, the bona fide movie star is expected to pocket at least $100 million from ticket sales, his salary and his eventual cut of home entertainment rentals and streaming revenue.

Joseph Kosinski directed “Top Gun: Maverick,” which was delayed several times during the pandemic. The sequel takes place decades after events in the original 1986 adventure and follows Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as he returns to the prestigious aviation academy for a special assignment. The nicknamed men who share the screen with Cruise include Miles Teller as Rooster, Glen Powell as Hangman and Val Kilmer as Iceman. Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Monica Barbaro and Ed Harris round out the cast.

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