The Tom Cruise blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” surpassed the milestone of $1 billion in global box office revenue on Saturday, making it the highest-grossing film so far in 2022.
The global box office mark was noted as the first for a movie starring Cruise and just the 50th movie to reach the billion-dollar barrier, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Director Joseph Kosinski’s film passed the barrier after finishing Sunday with an estimated domestic total of $521.7 million and $484.7 million overseas for a global cume just north of $1 billion,” the report noted.
“Top Gun: Maverick enjoyed a boost in its fifth weekend thanks to being rereleased in select Imax and premium large-format screens. The Paramount and Skydance release grossed $30.5 million domestically and $44.5 million overseas for a weekend total,” it added.
The film is the second film to break the $1 billion global box office mark since the pandemic. “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was the first film to surpass 10-figures following the COVID-19 closure of theaters worldwide in 2020.
The latest Cruise film also hit the notable mark in just 31 days. It continues to vie for number one in America even in its fifth week, according to Variety. The film has accomplished the remarkable feat despite competition from “Jurassic World: Dominion” and Pixar’s latest film “Lightyear.”
Internationally, Cruise’s film “is still ranked at No. 1 in Japan — for the fifth weekend in a row — and down just 15% for a $51.1M running cume. The UK came in behind Warner Bros’ Elvis, down 18% from last week for a total to date of $78.7M,” according to Dateline.
“Top Gun: Maverick,” released 36 years after the original “Top Gun” film, has already earned three times the gross income as the previous installment. The film also marks Cruise’s top money-making movie, surpassing “Mission Impossible: Fallout,” released in 2018.
Forbes also noted that “Top Gun: Maverick” also “now ranks 15th on the all-time domestic chart between Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($515 million in 2019) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ($532 million in 2016).”
The Daily Wire’s Brett Craig recently noted, “‘Top Gun: Maverick’ doesn’t apologize for its patriotism or equivocate about America’s leading role in the world, and there’s no global coalition to depend on when a dangerous international threat arises in the film.”
The Daily Wire’s Amanda Harding added, “‘Maverick’ is devoid of virtue signaling. There are no trans fighter pilots, Top Gun school drag performances, or monologues about white privilege. The film relies on quality storytelling and action scenes that are real rather than computer generated.”
The left-leaning Vanity Fair even acknowledged the film’s success as a victory celebrated by conservatives. “Top Gun: Maverick is the latest Hollywood production that commentators on the right have portrayed as a culture-war victory,” it noted.
“Over the past year, conservatives have celebrated the success of Yellowstone, a drama that revolves around a Montana ranching family, and inexplicably tied the show’s high ratings to its supposed ‘real America’ themes,” the outlet added.