Tom Cruise Could Also Not Have Guessed That Top Gun Maverick Would Gross 700 Million

Even the consistently upbeat Tom Cruise could not have guessed that Top Gun: Maverick would gross $700 million domestically, much less in just 15 weeks. The blockbuster Legacy sequel became just the sixth movie in history to reach the coveted milestone on Saturday. It will soon surpass Black Panther’s lifetime total of $700.42 million to rank as the fifth-largest domestic release of all time.

The movie has made over $1.42 billion worldwide, making it the most successful movie ever, the most successful movie in Paramount Pictures history, the most successful movie in Tom Cruise’s career, and the most successful movie since December’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Joseph Kosinski is the director of Maverick, which was released 36 years after the first Top Gun. 1986 original, which Tony Scott directed, reportedly cost $15 million to make but ended up grossing $357 million worldwide. In the follow-up, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by Cruise, returns to reflect on his own legacy and prepare a group of young pilots for a perilous mission. Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Monica Barbaro, Manny Jacinto, and Val Kilmer are among the other actors who appear in the movie.