It's been clear for weeks that this was on the horizon, but over the weekend, Top Gun: Maverick passed another impressive box office milestone. That came when it flew by Avengers: Infinity War in North America to become the sixth-highest grossing movie of all time.
With a whopping $679 million haul, next on the Top Gun sequel's radar is Black Panther's $700 million. That's one target it might struggle to shoot down, but no one ever expected it to get this far. Ultimately, it probably won't come close to Avatar's $760 million, but this is still an impressive feat, and Top Gun: Maverick easily remains the biggest movie of Tom Cruise's career.
Worldwide, the movie sits at 13th place with $1.3 billion, with Avengers: Age of Ultron's $1.4 billion placing it just ahead (another Marvel blockbuster that may be at risk from Maverick and company).
Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly (via ActioNewz.com) and shared his candid thoughts on why the sequel has managed to outperform this year's Marvel movies.
"That's what it's all about; it's about the emotion, it's about bringing Iceman back, it's about seeing a real movie. You're in the F-18 just like those actors are," he says. "They were trained for three months to be able to get into an F-18. You can see the struggles of what they're doing, what they're going through. That's all real, that's not made-up."
"I think audiences have been seeing so much CGI, which is wonderful, I go see the same movies, but it's also nice to see the real deal, and to be part of a camaraderie of characters that get up in the sky and have to be as good as they can be. The audiences love the Marvel, they love the DC stuff. They're beautifully made by really talented people."
"Sometimes you want to see something that's real, and that's what Top Gun gave us. These aviators are out there protecting our country right now, flying around the world, and you're taking a ride with them," Bruckheimer added. "You're seeing what they do, you're seeing what their life is like, and the trials and tribulations that they have to go through. You're actually experiencing it with our actors."
It's an interesting perspective, and agree or disagree, there's no denying Top Gun: Maverick has found an unprecedented level of box office success this summer. Something about it has clearly resonated with moviegoers, and they've embraced this action blockbuster in a bigger way than even recent hits like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder.
Did you guys enjoy watching Top Gun: Maverick on the big screen?