Famed director Quentin Tarantino revealed that he saw Joseph Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick and even offered it his stamp of approval.
In an appearance on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast, the marquee-level helmer of films like Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood had praise for some prominent recent releases, notably the Tom Cruise-headlined sequel. "I f***ing love Top:Gun Maverick," said Tarantino. "I thought it was fantastic. I saw it at the theaters," he said. "That and [Steven] Spielberg's West Side Story both provided a cinematic spectacle, the kind that I'd almost thought that I wasn't going to see anymore. It was fantastic."
When asked whether Maverick will resuscitate the theatrical experience, Tarantino said "We'll see," adding that it'll likely take a couple of years to know for sure. The movie, which hit theaters on May 27, 2022, has seen wildly impressive box office numbers. It recently became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of all time, flying past their previous record-holder, James Cameron's Titanic. Maverick's domestic first-run raked in $601.9 million compared to Titanic's $600.7 million.
And this might not be the Top Gun franchise's last chance to blow other titles away with box office earnings. According to Maverick's Miles Teller, Tom Cruise, the film's lead actor, has been discussing the possibility of another film. "It's all up to Tom," explained Teller, before adding, "I've been having some conversations with him about it."
Another Top Gun film would be a wise move for Cruise as some speculate that his earnings from Maverick will hit nine figures. The actor received $12.5 million for the job, accompanied by 10% of every dollar once the film passes $125 million in earnings. This is already a staggering amount, seeing as the sequel has grossed over $623.8 million in North America alone. He will also receive a percentage of what people pay to watch the movie to watch at home once the film is available on demand.
However, VOD earnings may not start coming in for a while as Paramount President and CEO of Streaming Tom Ryan recently stated that he is unsure when the film will appear on streaming. "I think a year or so ago," he explained, "there was a lot of discussion about what the right model was for movies to streaming, and we were one of the first, if not the first, to come out with the 45-day-post theatrical, which gives a lot of value to the marketing of content and allows you to give it a great theatrical exclusive window, but then bring it streaming." While that won't be how things will be done with Maverick, Ryan admitted that "we haven't decided" on its theatrical window just yet.
Top Gun: Maverick is currently available to watch in theaters.
Source: ReelBlend via The Hollywood Reporter