It’s been a while since Top Gun: Maverick became Tom Cruise’s most successful domestic release, but the legacy sequel has now extended its lead over Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds by at least $100 million. With at least $334 million in the bank domestically and at least another $278 million from overseas territories, Maverick on Tuesday crossed the $600 million mark worldwide in just 12 days.
Adjusted for inflation, the first Top Gun remains Cruise’s biggest domestic hit, its $180 million haul from 1986 translating to $440 million in 2022 dollars. Also ahead of Maverick on the taxiway of Cruise’s hits are 1993’s The Firm ($158 million/$358 million adjusted), 2000’s Mission: Impossible II ($215 million/$365 million adjusted), 1996’s Mission: Impossible ($181 million/$375 million adjusted) and 1988’s Rain Man ($173 million/$396 million adjusted).
Maverick has a realistic chance of ending its third weekend of release with $400 million domestically, but more impressively, it has a good shot at concluding its worldwide run with $1 billion, making it the first film in Cruise’s illustrious career to cross the milestone — also without China and Russia in play. To hit this target, Maverick will need to gross at least $530 million stateside, if you were to consider a 53/47 domestic/overseas split in grosses. The film’s final remaining major overseas territory is South Korea, where Cruise is a popular draw.
