Top Gun: Maverick Box Office Success—What’s the Secret?

Posted: August 23, 2022

The numbers are out. Top Gun: Maverick box office success is now official after successfully surpassing $1.6 billion. The movie, which took over 35 years to finally come out, has already surpassed so many other films domestically and internationally. Everyone had their excuses for months on end, especially during the pandemic and post-pandemic era. And Tom Cruise’s blockbuster hit is leaving them all to bite the dust. 

Why did Top Gun: Maverick box office domination become possible for this film and was only wishful thinking for other movies (even those with colossal budgets)? Let’s find out. 

Respect To Moviegoers

Top Gun: Maverick proved that if you create a great movie that aims to pay respect to the fans for whom it’s being made while also having mass appeal—it is bound to be a hit. The film did a good job of bringing mass appeal even to those people who had no idea what Top Gun was all about. 

It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen the first Top Gun film over three decades ago. This is a really good movie so people chose to show up and give support. All accolades go to Paramount and Tom Cruise for setting an example of how it gets done. 

Never Isolate Your Audience

Isolating certain groups of your audience is downright dangerous. This was proven when several films like those coming from Disney, Warner Brothers, and others tried to isolate their audience and tried to push their political agendas into their films. It left a bad taste in the mouth and pushed so many people away. 

Top Gun Maverick knew better and was careful not to make this mistake. This weekend certainly proved to be the case as the film became the 3rd highest-grossing film in domestic box office history. This, after climbing from the number six spot last week.  It knocked off the likes of Titanic and Avengers Infinity War and is now ready for digital download in your own homes. 

Tom Cruise Stood His Ground

Cruise was adamant about not putting this on streaming at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He wanted this to be released in theaters first, and he made the right decision. The film stayed way longer in theaters compared to other movies these days. 

Tom knew exactly what he was doing. It was made because he knew it was something worth making, and worth seeing. Moviegoers will feel good on every level. It’s the type of Jerry Bruckheimer filmmaking that you don’t see much anymore. 

Tom fought back during the pandemic, saying everybody else was streaming everything right now, but they were going to stay on the course. He knew they had a good enough movie to do that. 

It Had An Amazing Cast

Are you curious who turned down the maverick role in Top Gun? It was none other than Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton. Yes, that Hamilton who won seven world championships. Unfortunately, he had to decline the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to jump into that fighter jet cockpit for his role. 

Hamilton was supposed to be one of the pilots, but the filming will clash with the climax of his F1 season, and he refused to split his time between the two. He said that breaking this news to Tom and the film’s director Joseph Kosinski was “the most upsetting call that I think I’ve ever had.”

Nevertheless, it’s still a great cast turn with Hollywood superstars like Tom Cruise and its supporting cast. You have Penny Benjamin as Cruise’s love interest, played by Jennifer Connelly. There simply isn’t anything about this film that is not fun and irresistible. 

It’s Not An All Hype And No Substance Type Of Film

Some people were wondering if this film was 20 years too late, or if it was pure hype and no substance. Paramount, Cruise, and everyone involved in making this movie proved them wrong. One and a half year ago, the first 18 minutes of this was shown on Cinemacon, and it was purely phenomenal. People knew that if it was going to be like this for the rest of the movie, it was going to be mind-blowing. And that was exactly what it proved to be. 

If you think it’s working simply because it’s 80s nostalgia—it’s not. It’s so much more than that. The movie has good characters, has a great story behind it, and it’s overflowing with emotion. Yes, it has new characters but what’s great about it is that the film infuses the older generation with the newer generation. So it’s no wonder people are going back to see it in theaters again and again. It’s such an amazing film you won’t mind seeing it multiple times. 

So, is Top Gun: Maverick the highest-grossing movie? If not, what is the highest-grossing movie of all time? Well, Avatar still tops the list with $2.847 billion. But that is beside the point, even though $1.6 billion is still a massive amount to wrap your head around. The point is the Top Gun: Maverick box office success is all about thinking outside the box, going against the grain, the norm, and going against what the majority wants. It’s about knowing the right thing to do and having the balls to stick to it. So if it’s balls we’re talking about, Maverick has it.