Moviegoers aren’t losing that loving feeling for Top Gun: Maverick this weekend as the movie is destined to become Tom Cruise’s top-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office with $273.6M. The 3x Oscar nominee’s previous high earning title was Steven Spielberg’s 2005 sci-fi title War of the Worlds at $234M.
Top Gun 2 is expected to beat War of the Worlds on Saturday; the Joseph Kosinski-directed sequel eyeing a second Friday of $20M, -61% against last Friday (+ previews) on its way to a 3-day of $68M, -46%. Some rival studios see it much higher, but again, it’s still early.
Top Gun 2 ended its first week with $205.6M. This weekend, the Paramount/Skydance movie will fly over such Cruise lifetime stateside totals as Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ($209M), Mission: Impossible II ($215M), and Mission: Impossible – Fallout ($220M, the highest grossing title at domestic B.O. in that franchise).
Here’s how the rest of the weekend is looking per industry estimates:
1.) Top Gun: Maverick (Par) 4,751 (+16) theaters, Fri $20M (-61%), 3-day $68M (-46%), Total $273.6M/Wk 2
2.) Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Dis) 3,765 (-40) theaters, Fri $2M (-55%), 3-day $6.5M (-59%)/Total $385.9M/Wk 5
3.) Bob’s Burgers Movie (20th/Dis) 3,425 theaters, Fri $1.1M (-80%) 3-Day $4M-$5M (-64%), Total $22.2M+/Wk 2
4.) The Bad Guys (Uni) 2,869 (-75) theaters, Fri $850K (-32%), 3-day $3.1M (-29%), Total $87M/Wk 7
5.) Downton Abbey- A New Era (Foc) 3,451 (-379) theaters, Fri $850K (-54%), 3-day $2.6M (-55%), Total $35.3M/Wk 3