'Top Gun: Maverick' is enjoying the lowest drop in history for a movie opening to $100 million or more, in addition becoming Tom Cruise's biggest film in the U.S.
Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Paramount and Skydance tentpole, starring Tom Cruise, is doing massive business in its second weekend. The sequel earned $90 million to boast the smallest decline ever — 29 percent — for a movie opening domestically to $100 million or more. Shrek 2, which launched to $108 million in 2004, fell 33 percent, according to Comscore.
On Sunday, Paramount’s estimate was $86 million, but better-than-expected traffic drove that number up.
Top Gun: Maverick has now earned $295.6 million through Sunday in North America and $557.2 million globally. Top Gun 2 continues to fly high overseas, where it is likewise holding strong. It earned another $85.8 million this weekend for a foreign tally of $261.6 million. (Actual weekend numbers came in ahead of Sunday estimates overseas as well.)
On Saturday, Top Gun: Maverick became Cruise’s top-grossing film domestically, surpassing 2005’s The War of the Worlds ($243.3 million), not adjusted for inflation. That’s after zooming past the first Top Gun ($180.3 million) and Cruise’s Mission: Impossible films, including the last installment, Mission: Impossible — Fallout ($220.2 million).
Internationally, Top Gun: Maverick is already well ahead of the $176 million earned by the first Top Gun, not adjusted for inflation. The U.K. leads with $39.7 million. However, it is far from matching many of the recent Mission: Impossible films at the foreign box office. One reason — the sequel isn’t getting a release in China or Russia.
The movie’s overall performance is a huge win for the summer box office and shows that people are eager to return to theaters after two years of sparse Hollywood product due to the pandemic.
In North America, Top Gun: Maverick has the playing field largely to itself until next weekend, when Jurassic World: Dominion lands across the U.S.
Overseas, Jurassic World 3 began opening midweek in 15 markets for an estimated total of $55.5 million through Friday. It’s doing strong business in Mexico, Brazil and Italy in particular.
Other weekend highlights included Marvel and Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness crossing $900 million — no small feat. The film placed No. 2 domestically with $9.3 million in its fifth outing for a domestic total of $388.7 million. Overseas, it has earned $520.7 million for a cume of $909.4 million.
Elsewhere, Cannes Film Festival entry Crimes of the Future, from David Cronenberg, opened to a disappointing $1 million. Neon launched the film in 773 theaters, a wide footprint for a specialty title. The film placed No. 10.
A24’s Everything Everywhere All At Once continued to be the big specialty headline as it hit $60 million in its 11th weekend upon earning $2 million for a domestic cume of $60.5 million.
June 5, 7:40 a.m. Updated with revised estimates.
June 6, 7:25 a.m. Updated with final domestic weekend numbers.
June 6, 3 p.m. Updated with final international weekend numbers.
This story was first published on June 3 at 7:38 a.m