The acclaimed sequel may have only been in theaters for two weekends, but Top Gun: Maverick is going to take some beating when it comes to delivering 2022’s most impressive box office performance.
Sure, more movies have (and no doubt will) earn more money, but it’s the records Tom Cruise’s return to the skies keeps toppling that makes the Joseph Kosinski’s long-awaited second installment the blockbuster of the year so far, and that extends into the near-universal praise from critics and audiences, with those murmurings of a Best Picture nomination hardly far-fetched.
Having smashed the existing Memorial Day benchmarks last weekend, Maverick was looking to maintain its momentum, which the jaw-dropping action drama has managed to accomplish in some style. The latest numbers have Top Gun 2‘s sophomore frame coming in at $86 million, which is impressive enough as it is, but that’s not the story.
Having dipped only 32 percent across the last seven days, Maverick has posted the lowest second weekend drop in history for any film that debuted to over $100 million, comfortably blowing past the 40 percent decline posted by Star Wars: The Force Awakens back in 2015, and eclipsing the 33 percent high set 18 years ago by Shrek 2.
When you consider that 64 titles in total have scored in excess of $100 million across their first three days in theaters, then it underlines just how incredible Top Gun: Maverick‘s performance continues to be. Globally, Cruise’s first feature in four years is sitting just shy of $550 million, which means it’s guaranteed to pass War of the Worlds to become his top-earning non-Mission: Impossible outing ever, with the career high of Fallout‘s $791 million definitely not out of reach.
