‘Top Gun: Maverick’ On Pace To Be Tom Cruise’s Largest Box Opening Success Ever, Crushing Pre-Pandemic Numbers

“Top Gun: Maverick” is on pace to be Tom Cruise’s largest domestic box opening success of his career, crushing pre-pandemic numbers for some of his biggest movies.

The 59-year-old actor’s long-awaited sequel to the 1986 hit movie “Top Gun” hits theaters Memorial Day weekend and, according to official tracking, the film will have at least a four-day gross of $92 million, reported The Hollywood Reporter in a piece published Wednesday. The outlet noted that those numbers are considered to be on the conservative side, with the opening weekend in the United States possibly soaring to more than $100 million and reaching as high as $125 million.

To put that into context, the “Jack Reacher” star’s prior largest domestic box office opening numbers were: $64.9 million in 2005 for “War of the Worlds,” followed by “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” in 2018, which grossed $61.2 million opening weekend, according to Comscore and not adjusted for inflation. The rest of the superstar actor’s movies have had openings of less than $60 million, with him earning $4.2 billion at the domestic box office since 1981, reported CNBC.

“At this point, I’m seeing very little reason not to expect a domestic opening weekend well over $100 million, a mark that the film will probably reach in its first three days,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com shared. “We’re not just talking about a new career best for Mr. Cruise, but also potentially some Memorial Day weekend records that may be going down.”

Box Office: ‘Top Gun 2’ Targets Career-Best Opening for Tom Cruise https://t.co/EDs1b3I7WX

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 24, 2022

The report noted that after the pandemic, it has been tricky to accurately estimate how movies will perform. It added that with the film’s appeal to an older audience — as it has been 36 years since the original high-flying movie hit theaters — it’s unclear if those consumers will turn out.

The film begins previews Thursday in North America, and will officially open Friday in 4,732 locations. “Top Gun 2” will hit the global box office in 62 markets, which doesn’t include Russia following Russia President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and China, which has yet to secure a release date. The movie is estimated to come close to $200 million globally in its debut, the report noted.

The excitement around the film finally coming out could be helping those box office earnings, after the film’s release was delayed several times due to the pandemic.

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