‘Top Gun Maverick’ Could Gross $600 Million
Premature claims that "Top Gun: Maverick" is Cruise's biggest domestic hit will come true — give it another couple of weeks.
A month ago, the educated guess had “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,
“Thor: Love and Thunder” (both Disney), and “Jurassic World: Dominion” (Universal) competing for the biggest domestic hit of summer 2022.
Strong runs were also expected from “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (Universal),
“Lightyear” (Disney), and “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount), but those were anticipated at $300 million for each, at best.
It took 11 days at the box office for the “Top Gun” sequel to bust through that estimation:
It’s grossed $308 million. The last time a non-Marvel or franchise title did that was “It” in 2017 ($327 million).
Lowball “Maverick” projections stemmed from the film’s perceived lack of
immediate appeal to younger audiences and comparisons to recent Tom Cruise films.