In Tom Cruise’s filmography, Top Gun might be one of the least likely films to get a sequel. However that changed this year when we got Top Gun: Maverick, a direct sequel to the 1986 film released this year. It took Paramount almost 36 years to make Top Gun: Maverick. While the sequel for it was in the works for a long time, it never seem to have cohesively work out. Initially, Paramount had plans to bring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer back with director Tony Scott for the sequel in 2010. However, the tragic suicide of the director in 2012 pressed a long break on the project. It wasn’t until 2017 when Joseph Kosinski came on board to helm the sequel. The principal photography for Top Gun: Maverick finally kicked off in mid 2018 and would continue till early 2019 with plans to release it in July 2019. However, the Covid-19 pandemic had different plans. With multiple delays and reshoots, Maverick finally returned on May 27th 2022 and boy was it worth it.
The film enjoyed a massive box office surge despite the skepticism of audiences regarding theatres. It was lauded by the critics for its great action sequences and most importantly the emotional weight carried by the film. A lot of people found it better than the original including me. Paramount enjoyed the box office success of Maverick of about $1.4 Billion worldwide, as even when the film was available on digital, the film continued to rule the box office. The film broke many box office records throughout its run. Maverick finally went off the theatres as there were many big releases lined-up like Black Adam and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Maverick really ruled the summer box office and continued its reign after that as well and it looks like the film is still not done yet as Paramount is planning to re-release the film.
Why Is Top Gun: Maverick Re-Releasing So Soon?
Top Gun: Maverick is planning its re-release from 2nd December 2022 to 15th December 2022. If you haven’t noticed that is exactly one day before Avatar: The Way of Water releases, which in my opinion is now the only movie that has the potential to beat Top Gun’s insane run of $1.48 Billion this year. If you trust James Cameron then according to him Way of Water needs to make at least $2 Billion to break even. If Avatar 2 meets this number then it will easily cross Maverick’s golden run.
As Black Adam did mediocre on the box office and Wakanda Forever’s craze is slowly dying out, it opens up a window before Cameron’s juggernaut hits theatres. Even if the first Avatar released over 12 years ago, the sequel is still set to make $150-175 Million in its opening weekend. Whether the sequel would cross Maverick’s $716 Million golden domestic run is something that has to be seen. In comparison, Avatar had collected $749 Million at the domestic box office.
There is every possibility that the number 1 spot that Top Gun: Maverick has held so well the entire year, might be snatched away when Avatar: The Way of Water releases, so before the sequel releases, Paramount is making its last effort to increase Maverick’s box office collection before Avatar 2 releases. So if you haven’t seen Maverick yet or want to watch it again in theatres then this might be your last chance.
Top Gun: Maverick is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video and it will re-release in theatres on 2nd December 2022.
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