“Top Gun: Maverick” crossed the $1 billion dollar box office sales threshold, proving Americans and people the world over love its patriot message.
According to Box Office Mojo, “Maverick” garnered approximately $522 million domestically and over $484 million in ticket sales as of Saturday.
“Maverick,” the sequel to 1986’s top grossing film “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise, is the first offering of 2022 to receive a “A+” rating from moviegoers, explaining its strong legs at the box office.
It also has a 97 percent fresh score with Rotten Tomatoes from movie critics.
We polled @TopGunMovie: Maverick tonight and audiences gave it an A+! Congrats to @ParamountPics, @TomCruise, and the rest of the cast and crew! Will you be lining up to see the sequel this weekend? #CinemaScore pic.twitter.com/ESnSu9RxkE
— CinemaScore (@CinemaScore) May 28, 2022
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“Maverick” is the highest grossing military movie of all time, topping 2014’s “American Sniper” and 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan.”
In today’s dollars, “Sniper’s” worldwide total would be $668 million.
“Saving Private Ryan” — previously in second place — earned about $482 million worldwide in 1998, which would be $855 million in today’s dollars. The original “Top Gun’s” take was approximately $357 million worldwide, which would be $952 million now.
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“Maverick” has laid down some impressive markers on its way to $1 billion.
It set the record for a Memorial Day weekend release, taking in over $160 million domestically. It also marked the first $100 million opening weekend of Cruise’s 40-year career.
The film is his best box office performer overall, beating 2018’s “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” which took in $791 million globally.
Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter highlighted “Maverick” set the record for the smallest second-weekend drop-off in sales out of any movie with a $100 million opening. Ticket sales for the Paramount Pictures release fell just 29 percent for a total of $90 million domestically.
By way of comparison, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” fell 67 percent and “The Batman” dropped 51 percent during their second weekends.
“Maverick” has clearly resonated globally, with audiences loving its strong patriotic story and great action.
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A central message of the film is not to count America out: It’s still a force for good and security in a turbulent and violent world. After all, what does a U.S. aircraft carrier represent but a nation’s military might and presence?
The mission that Cruise’s character — U.S. Navy Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell — oversees is the attack of a soon-to-be operational nuclear facility in what is identified as a “rogue” nation. Iran immediately comes to mind.
At the beginning of the movie, Adm. Chester Cain, played by Ed Harris, tells Maverick that his days are numbered. He’s a dying breed.
Maverick’s response is perhaps a slight concession that that day may come, but “not today.”
Well, that’s just the message Americans and all lovers of liberty the world over needed to hear.
After the coronavirus lockdowns and all the weirdness and strife of the last few years, “Top Gun: Maverick” shows people still see America as the shining city on the hill.
