‘Top Gun: Maverick’ sets sights on $1 billion global box office haul

“Top Gun: Maverick” continues to break barriers at the box office.

The Paramount and Skydance sequel to the 1986 hit “Top Gun” soared past $900 million in ticket sales globally Monday and has set its sights on crossing the coveted $1 billion box office threshold.

Without much standing in its way, box office analysts expect “Maverick” to achieve that milestone within a week. The blockbuster feature won’t have much competition until July 8, when Disney’s Marvel Studios releases “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

So far, sales for “Maverick” have been split between about $475 million in the U.S. and Canada and about $430 million from international markets.

“Reflecting the film’s universal appeal, a near 50/50 split of domestic versus international revenues is a rare feat for most modern blockbusters,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Since its debut in late May, “Maverick” has kept its torrid pace at the domestic box office, generating strong ticket sales through its fourth week in theaters. The film opened with $126.7 million in sales, the highest opening weekend box office haul for any Tom Cruise film and the actor’s first film to garner more than $100 million during its debut.

In its second weekend, ticket sales declined 29% to $90 million, demonstrating more staying power than most blockbuster features, according to data from Comscore. Typically, big budget films see sales fall between 50% and 70% from launch week to the second week.

That strong performance continued: It brought in $52 million in its third weekend, a 42% drop from the second weekend, and $44 million during its fourth weekend, a 14% drop from the third.

“‘Maverick’ has tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in a way only a rare breed of movies ever achieve,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.

Robbins noted that “Maverick” was well reviewed and is packed with action, and that it also generated considerable word of mouth, which brought back the original film’s audience as well as younger moviegoers.

“It’s the epitome of a great summer movie,” he said.

The film has consistently drawn in audiences over the age of 35, a demographic that has been reluctant to return to movie theaters since the height of the pandemic. Younger moviegoers usually drive the bulk of blockbuster ticket sales, but having films that entice older customers to return will be a key part of the industry’s post-pandemic recovery.

“Kudos should be given to Paramount Pictures, who have been a perfect partner for Tom Cruise over the years, and waited for the perfect moment to open the film exclusively in theaters and not consider a streaming release as an option due to the challenges of the pandemic,” said Dergarabedian of Comscore. “‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a textbook example of how you build the perfect billion-dollar box office beast.”