Top Gun: Maverick hit cinemas in time for Memorial Day’s kickoff of summer. Riding the lift of glowing reviews and a surge of moviegoers flocking to big blockbusters, it surpassed $1 billion at the box office worldwide to become the year’s top-grossing movie.
In July, it eclipsed 45 days in theaters, the point when other movies by the same studio became available to stream. But Top Gun: Maverick still isn’t streaming, even as other ways to watch it at home are coming into land.
How can I watch Top Gun: Maverick in theaters for $3 on National Cinema Day?
The only two ways to see Top Gun: Maverick for now are either to go to a theater or pay $20 to buy it outright in an online store.
On Saturday, however, theaters across the US are observing a so-called National Cinema Day for the first time, pricing tickets at just $3 (plus taxes and fees) regardless of the film or showtime. More than 3,000 theaters representing more than 30,000 screens are participating, from the country’s biggest chains, like AMC and Regal, down to some mom-and-pop art house theaters too.
The $3 price applies even to premium formats like Imax, 3D and Dolby Cinemas. Some theaters are discounting concessions like popcorn and soda as well.
The participating theaters are locally specific, so the best way to find a discounted screening of Top Gun is to check listings in your area. When possible, booking in advance for Top Gun is probably wise, since you’ll be vying for seats to the most popular theatrical film so far this year at a time when it’s never been cheaper to see.
How can I watch Top Gun: Maverick at home?
For now, home digital sales are your only option. As of Tuesday, you can buy it through online stores like Amazon Video, Apple TV and Vudu. In most online stores, it costs $20. It will be available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD starting Nov. 1. But when it’ll be available to stream on a subscription service hasn’t been announced.
What service will stream it first?
Top Gun: Maverick is expected to become available to stream as part of a subscription on Paramount Plus first. The movie is distributed by Paramount Pictures, which is owned by the same parent company as Paramount Plus.
When is its streaming release date?
Paramount hasn’t set a streaming release date for the Top Gun sequel yet.
Home digital sales started Tuesday, so you can now buy it through online stores like Amazon Video, Apple TV and Vudu. In most online stores, it costs $20.
But its timing on Paramount Plus, where you’ll be able to stream it as part of a $5 subscription or even on a free trial, is still a mystery.
Taking cues from the company’s past patterns and Paramount executives’ comments lately, it’s possible the company may hold the movie back from streaming even longer.
For past live-action movies, Paramount has tended to give them at least 45 days exclusively in theaters before making them available to stream on Paramount Plus. If Top Gun: Maverick had followed that 45-day timeline, it would’ve become available to stream on July 18, the day after it completed its 45th day in cinemas. Other Paramount movies — February’s Jackass Forever, March’s The Lost City and April’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 — all hit Paramount Plus on the 46th day after reaching theaters.
But Paramount doesn’t make films available to stream like clockwork. Scream, which hit theaters late last year, took roughly a week longer, at about 53 days.
More importantly, Paramount has said it wants to keep Top Gun: Maverick in theaters longer than those other movies.
In May, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish indicated that Top Gun: Maverick wouldn’t follow the 45-day timeline, according to a report by The New York Times. Bakish was echoing comments by the company’s financial chief a couple of weeks earlier.
“There are certain movies that are really made for the theatrical experience. Top Gun is a great example of that,” CFO Naveen Chopra said at an investor conference. “You should see that movie in a theater, and it will stay in the theater for a longer period of time.”
How much longer that “longer period of time” will be is anyone’s guess, for now. Top Gun: Maverick is the 2022’s top-grossing movie worldwide so far, and with Paramount’s film slate missing any other megablockbuster prospects for the rest of the year, Paramount may be trying to eke out every dollar in sales in can from Top Gun: Maverick before letting it stream.
Will it be ‘free’ to stream?
Paramount Plus requires a paid subscription, so nothing on the service is free — unless you watch it while you’re signed up on a free trial. Paramount Plus offers a seven-day free trial standard for all new members. Otherwise, it offers a subscription supported by ads for $5 a month and an ad-free tier for $10 a month.
But some good news is that you aren’t likely to be charged anything extra to stream Top Gun: Maverick. Paramount Plus has never charged an additional fee to watch a movie on its service. And even though it has two different tiers, it has never “paywalled” a movie behind the higher-priced membership level.
