Two years later Top Gun: MaverickIt’s incredible box office success, it looks less and less likely that Tom Cruise Will ever star in a bigger movie than the hit sequel. Viewers waited a long time for Top Gun: Maverick. 34 years after the original movie hit cinemas, viewers are ready to finally see its sequel on the big screen in 2020. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and another two years were added to the multi-decade wait between franchise installments. The pressure on the sequel was immense, and it was reasonable to assume that no movie could live up to its pre-release hype.
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However, by the time Top Gun: MaverickK’s ending rolled around, it was clear that the Tom Cruise vehicle had done the impossible. Top Gun: Maverick was better than Top GunWith more emotional depth, sharper action sequences, and a more streamlined story than its predecessor. It’s hard to see how Top Gun 3‘s story could hope to top the conflict between Gooster and Maverick, one that has been intensified by the sheer time between franchise outings. Cruise’s Maverick aged wisely between outings and the making Top Gun: Maverick A sharper viewing experience than anticipated.
Top Gun: Maverick is likely to remain Tom Cruise’s biggest movie ever
The top gun sequel made $1.4 billion after its release in 2022
Top Gun: MaverickIts critical success was reflected in its box office performance, with the movie becoming the biggest hit of Tom Cruise’s career. Top Gun: Maverick Made a historically huge $1.4 billion at the box officeBecoming the biggest hit of 2022 thanks to Avatar: The Way of Waters December release date. While Top Gun: Maverick Made Top GunEnding worse with its revelations about the unstable protagonist of the franchise, the sequel managed to outdo all of Cruise’s previous box office successes in the process. Even these Mission: Impossible series, another historically successful franchise, cannot compete with it.
Top Gun: MaverickIts success can be attributed to several factors ranging from its early summer arrival to a lack of strong competition at the box office, to a growing desire among cinemagoers to return to theaters. The immersive, intense action benefited from big-screen viewing, but Cruise’s status as one of a dwindling number of true A-list hitmakers also helped the sequel. However, the performance of his movies both before and after Top Gun: Maverick Makes it clear that the sequel won’t be out anytime soon, and he may never be able to replicate his massive financial success.
Top Gun: Maverick massively outperformed 1986’s original Top Gun
Top Gun earned $357 million
Before the release of the sequel, It was impossible that Top Gun: Maverick Can hope to out-earn Top Gun. Top Gun Made $357 million in 1986 which, while it may sound like a small sum, was a staggering amount of money at the time. Adjusted for inflation, this would have amounted to $924.4 million in 2022 (via CPI Inflation Calculator). Since Cruz’s biggest movie before Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible – FalloutEarning only $791 million, this feat was almost impossible until now Top Gun: Maverick Arrived. Top Gun: Maverick Not only exceeded that number but ended up becoming one of the twelve highest-grossing movies of all time.
Regardless of Top Gun 3s plot, it is difficult to see how the sequel can not only repeat but outdo this historic success. Top Gun 3 would now need to earn over $1.4 billion to become Cruise’s biggest movie ever, meaning it would be among the 10 most successful movies in box office history (not adjusted for inflation). Until recently, it seemed as if Cruz’s other lucrative franchise, the Mission: Impossible Movies, could have produced a sequel that would outdo Top Guns follow-up. However, 2023’s box office proved that wasn’t necessarily true thanks to one unexpected underperformer.
Tom Cruise’s 2023 sequel proves his box office dominance isn’t infallible
Mission: Impossible – Dead reckoning part one underperformed badly
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Made just $567 million at the box office 14 months after its release Top Gun: MaverickProving that Cruz’s star power is not unattainable. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Ones box office performance would be impressive for most starsBut the movie’s massive budget and the franchise’s history complicate this. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Was one of the most expensive movies ever made and was expected to outperform its predecessors. 2018s Mission: Impossible – Fallout Made $791 million and its predecessor Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Made $688 million, so an upward trend was likely.
Cruz’s biggest hit is simply to succeed.
The success of Cruz Top Gun And Mission: Impossible Franchise seemed like a sure thing yet Top Gun: MaverickIt’s incredible impact, so Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One‘s underwhelming box office was a surprise to many. This can be regrettable Top Gun 3 But even if it doesn’t, it’s unlikely that the sequel could ever match Top Gun: Mavericks success. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One would be considered an undeniable success if it made $800 million, which is still $600 million less than Top Gun: Maverick. Cruz’s biggest hit is simply to succeed.
Cruise’s few projects make another huge hit less likely
Cruise has only made movies since Seven Movies in 2015
The fact that Cruise makes so few movies is the main reason Top Gun: Mavericks success is unlikely to be replicatedAs the actor is simply less likely to enjoy another huge hit when he can rarely be seen in the multiplex. This ensures every Tom Cruise movie is a cultural event, but it comes at a price. Cruise made just seven movies in the nine years between 2015 and 2024, and one was the regrettable 2017 flop The mummy. Unlike busier actors, his refusal to prioritize quantity over quality makes him star in bigger hits like Top Gun: Maverick Less likely.
Top Gun 3 is unlikely to outdo Top Gun: Maverick’s box office impact
Top Gun and its sequel’s 36-year gap helped Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun 3 Almost certainly will not out-earn Top Gun: Maverick For many reasons. For one thing, there won’t be a 36-year wait between movies to build hype. for another, Top Gun 3 Will have a hard time expanding on Top Gun: Maverick‘s self-contained narrative and the sequel may struggle without Iceman to soften Cruise’s cocky antihero. However, there is still some hope for the star’s attempts to surpass his own record. After all, until the release of Top Gun: MaverickIt seemed like Tom Cruise would never be able to match, let alone surpass, the success of the 1986 original.
Sources: BBC