With a wave of stellare reviews from critics and a wide fanbase established way back in the 1980s, Top Gun: Maverick is enjoying a successful release so far. So successful, in fact, that it's on its way to becoming star Tom Cruise's most successful film ever.
According to Deadline, the Top Gun sequel is on track to earn over $51 million opening day, including $19.3 million in previews, making it Paramount's biggest opening ever. The gross earnings are expected to surpass the opening take from Iron Man 2, which earned $51.2 million worldwide upon release.
On top of that, the film is on track to beat Mission: Impossible – Fallout as Cruise's most successful opening weekend. Fallout earned $22.8 million on its opening day and went on to earn $791.1 million against a budget of $178 million. For comparison, the second-most successful Cruise film was Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which earned $12 million domestically upon release.
Critics have widely praised Top Gun: Maverick as one of this year's best summer blockbusters, in particular complimenting the decision to implement practical effects instead of CGI, the performance of the film's cast members and Maverick's willingness to acknowledge its 1980s roots.
When it came to preparing the cast for the film's adrenaline-pumping stunts, Cruise previously explained, "I developed a whole program for the actors, and how we could get them in the [F/A-18s]... It was every step of the way. I had to teach them how to fly. I had to teach them how to handle Gs. I had to get them confident in the airplane."
In addition, co-star Miles Teller explained, "[Cruise] put us through... I’ll just call it a 'Tom Cruise boot camp'. We were getting in killer shape. And also for the stunts and stuff that Tom does in movies, it’s usually a very specific type of training. You’re not just going into the gym and lifting some weights. We did flight training for three months before we started filming... We got put through the wringer."
Top Gun: Maverick is set 36 years after the events of the original 1986 film. It follows Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, who is put in charge of training a new group of graduates for a special mission. Along with Teller, the film co-stars Jennifer Connely, Ed Harris and Jon Hamm, with original Iceman actor Val Kilmer also briefly returning.
Top Gun: Maverick is playing in theaters now.
Source: Deadline