Seven months after flying into theaters, Top Gun: Maverick is soaring to the top of the charts for Paramount+. Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun sequel is the most-watched film in its premiere weekend, adding to the unflinching staying power of Capt. Pete’ Maverick’ Mitchell’s latest flight. What makes this feat more impressive is Top Gun: Maverick enjoyed a wide theatrical run (after several delays) and is sitting pretty on digital purchasing platforms. This detail either means people can’t get enough of the film or more people are finding it for the first time on Paramoun+. Either way, I bet Tom Cruise is sleeping well tonight. Probably on a bed stuffed with money.
“The runaway success of this film across theatrical, digital and now in streaming is an undeniable proof point demonstrating the power of Paramount’s multi-platform release strategy,” Brian Robbins, the chief content officer of movies at Paramount+, said in a statement about the streaming success of Top Gun: Maverick. “Across all our 2022 titles, and now with ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ our studio has unlocked the value of variable windowing that streaming provides to augment a film’s overall success.”
“We are thrilled to see a continuation of the film’s massive record-breaking success by becoming the #1 most-watched movie premiere on Paramount+,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer of Paramount Streaming. “We continue to benefit from the highly anticipated theatrical hits from Paramount Pictures that come to the service delivering fans a new way to continue to watch and re-watch their favorite movies.”
The film has been celebrated by critics and audiences alike, receiving an A+ CinemaScore, and earning a 97% critics’ score and 99% audience score from Rotten Tomatoes. In addition to marking Tom Cruise’s biggest opening and his highest-grossing film ever, it also opened domestically to the largest Memorial Day Weekend of all time; is Paramount Pictures’ highest-grossing domestic release ever; is the first movie ever to be #1 at the box office for both Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend; and is the highest-grossing film for Skydance, one of the film’s producers, followed by Mission Impossible: Fallout.
Do you think Top Gun: Maverick is worth all the hype? Or is it one of the year’s most overrated films? Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below.