Top Gun: Maverick felt the need for speed, and then some. As of Monday, the sequel to the 1986 fighter-pilot drama has raked in more than a billion dollars worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. It’s the first billion-dollar film for star Tom Cruise.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, joining the billion-dollar club was becoming more frequent. Joker was the first R-rated film to do so back in 2019. But since the pandemic closed many theaters and left many moviegoers uncomfortable about sitting in a crowded space, movies have struggled to reach that mark. In December 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home was the first pandemic-era film to cross the billion-dollar mark.
CNET critic Richard Trenholm called Top Gun: Maverick a “polished action movie powerhouse.” It’s earned a metascore of 78 on Metacritic, and 97 percent positive critical reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
Top Gun: Maverick is the 50th film in history to top a billion dollars at the global box office, according to CNN.
The film was released on May 16 in most of the US. It came in second at the domestic box office this past weekend, earning $29.6 million compared with $31.2 million for the opening weekend of the Elvis Presley biopic, Elvis.
