Paramount Pictures’ “Top Gun: Maverick” skyrocketed to first place at the domestic box office this weekend, collecting $124 million. By the end of the four-day holiday break, the blockbuster is expected to amass $151 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
The action flick scored the biggest domestic launch ever for veteran movie star Tom Cruise, who reprised his iconic role from 1986’s “Top Gun.” So far, the highly anticipated follow-up has shattered early box office expectations, which predicted the film would haul in $130 million by the end of the long weekend.
To put things in perspective, the original “Top Gun” also dominated the domestic box office when it opened to $8.1 million more than three decades ago at the height of Cruise’s early career.
Also new to theaters this weekend was 20th Century Studios’ “The Bob’s Burgers Movie,” which finished third with $12.6 million. Rounding out the top five are Disney and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which added $16.4 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $370.8 million; Focus Features’ “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” which made $5.9 million in its second weekend for a North American cumulative of $28.5 million; and Universal Pictures’ “The Bad Guys,” which pulled $4.6 million in its sixth weekend for a North American cumulative of $81.4 million.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, “Top Gun: Maverick” sees legendary Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) reluctantly return to the Navy’s elite Top Gun program as an instructor to teach a new class of fighter pilots how to survive a dangerous mission. The sequel also stars returning cast member Val Kilmer as Adm. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, as well as newcomers Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell and Miles Teller.
On review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, “Top Gun: Maverick” received a 97% fresh rating. The military movie also fared well with audiences polled by CinemaScore, which gave it an A-plus.
Helmed by Bernard Derriman and “Bob’s Burgers” co-creator Loren Bouchard, “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” notched 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A grade on CinemaScore.
The animated feature based on the hit series of the same name follows the Belcher bunch on a quest to save their family restaurant. Among the main voice cast are Kristen Schaal, H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, Zach Galifianakis, Kevin Kline and David Wain.
Opening in wide release next weekend are IFC Films’ “Watcher” and Fin and Fur Films’ “Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story.”
___
© 2022 Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
