Development of aTop Gun sequel was announced in 2010 byParamount Pictures. Cruise, along with co-producerJerry Bruckheimer and directorTony Scott, were asked to return. Craig wrote a draft of the screenplay in 2012, but the project stalled when Scott died later that year.Top Gun: Maverick was later dedicated to Scott's memory. Production resumed in 2017, after Kosinski was hired to direct.Principal photography, which involved the use ofIMAX-certified 6K full-frame cameras, took place from May 2018 to April 2019 inCalifornia,Washington, andMaryland. The film's complex action sequences—and later theCOVID-19 pandemic—delayed its release, which was initially scheduled for July 12, 2019. During the pandemic, several streaming companies attempted to purchase the streaming rights to the film from Paramount, but all offers were declined on the orders of Cruise, who insisted that it should be released exclusively in theaters.
Top Gun: Maverick premiered atCinemaCon on April 28, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on May 27. The film was widely praised by critics, with many deeming it superior to its predecessor.[6] It was named one of the top ten films of 2022 by theAmerican Film Institute and nominated for six awards at the95th Academy Awards (includingBest Picture), winningBest Sound.Top Gun: Maverick grossed $1.496 billion worldwide, making it thesecond-highest-grossing film of 2022 and the highest-grossing film ofCruise's career. A sequel is in development.
Plot
More than 30 years after graduating from theTop Gun training school,[b]United States NavyCaptainPete "Maverick" Mitchell is a decoratedtest pilot whose insubordination has kept him fromflag rank.[c] When Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain plans to cancel Maverick's "Darkstar"scramjet-poweredhypersonic aircraft program, Maverick manages to reach the final target speed, but the prototype is destroyed when he cannot resist pushing beyondMach 10. Cain tells Maverick that Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Maverick's friend and former Top Gun rival, now commander ofU.S. Pacific Fleet, has had Maverick assigned to the Top Gun school atNAS North Island, keeping his career alive for now.
The Navy has been ordered to destroy an unsanctioneduranium enrichment plant in an unnamed foreign country before it becomes operational. The plant, located in an underground bunker at the end of a canyon, is defended bysurface-to-air missiles (SAMs),GPS jammers,fifth-generationSu-57 fighters, andF-14 Tomcats. With the GPS spoofing making an attack by theLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II unfeasible, Maverick devises a plan employing two pairs ofF/A-18E/F Super Hornets armed withlaser-guided bombs. However, instead of participating in and leading the mission himself, Maverick is ordered to train elite Top Gun graduates who will complete the mission, assembled byAir Boss Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson, who barely tolerates Maverick's presence in deference to Iceman.
Maverickdogfights with his skeptical students, winning their respect, while talented but cocky and rude Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin clashes with likable but cautious Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw—son of Maverick's deceased best friend andradar intercept officer Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. Maverick reunites with former girlfriend Penny Benjamin and reveals his promise to Rooster's dying mother that Rooster would not become an aviator. Rooster, unaware of this, resents Maverick for blocking hisNaval Academy application and blames him for Goose's death. Faced with selecting Rooster for the mission, Maverick confides in Iceman, who tells him, "It's time to let go" and reassures him that both the Navy and Rooster need Maverick.
Iceman soon dies from terminal cancer, and Cyclone removes Maverick as instructor. Believing Maverick's plan is impossible to execute, Cyclone relaxes the mission parameters, allowing for theoretically easier execution but predictably resulting in the pilots' deaths. During Cyclone's announcement, Maverick makes an unauthorized flight through the course, completing it in less time than stated in his original mission parameters, proving it can be done. Cyclone reluctantly appoints him as team leader.
Maverick flies the lead F/A-18E, accompanied by abuddy-lasing F/A-18F[d] flown by Lieutenant Natasha "Phoenix" Trace andweapon systems officer Lieutenant Robert "Bob" Floyd. Rooster leads the second strike pair, which includes Lieutenant Reuben "Payback" Fitch and WSO Lieutenant Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia. The four jets launch from an aircraft carrier, andTomahawk cruise missiles destroy the enemy air base. The teams destroy the plant, but the SAMs open fire during their escape. Rooster runs out of countermeasures, and Maverick sacrifices his plane to protect him. Believing Maverick dead, all jets are ordered back to the carrier, but Rooster disobeys and returns to find Maverick on the ground being pursued by anMi-24 attack helicopter. After destroying the gunship, Rooster is shot down by a SAM and ejects. The two rendezvous and commandeer an F-14 from the damaged air base. Maverick and Rooster destroy two intercepting Su-57s, but a third attacks as they run out of ammunition and countermeasures. Hangman, who was the mission's emergency action pilot, unexpectedly arrives in time to shoot it down, and the planes return safely to a jubilant flight deck.
Later, Rooster helps Maverick work on hisP-51 Mustang. Afterward, Rooster looks at a photo of their mission's success, pinned alongside a photo of his late father and a young Maverick, as Penny and Maverick fly off in the P-51.
Miles Teller asLieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw: An F/A-18E pilot in the mission training group. He is the son of Maverick's lateRIO and best friend,LTJG Nick "Goose", and Carole Bradshaw. Rooster was previously portrayed by twinsAaron and Adam Weis inTop Gun in uncredited roles.
Jennifer Connelly as Penelope "Penny" Benjamin: Maverick's rekindled love interest, who is a single mother, a bar owner, and the daughter of an admiral[e]
In 1990, during the promotion ofBorn on the Fourth of July (1989),Tom Cruise dismissed the notion of a sequel toTop Gun (1986) as "irresponsible".[13]Paramount Pictures began development on the film in 2010 after making offers toJerry Bruckheimer andTony Scott to create a sequel toTop Gun with Cruise reprising his role. When asked about his idea for a newTop Gun film, Scott replied, "This world fascinated me, because it's so different from what it was originally. But I don't want to do a remake. I don't want to do a reinvention. I want to do a new movie."[14] It was reported that the film would focus on the end of the dogfighting era,[15] the role of drones in modern aerial warfare,[16] and would see Cruise's character, Maverick, fly anF/A-18E Super Hornet.[17] Following Scott's death in 2012, the sequel's future became uncertain, but producer Jerry Bruckheimer remained committed to the project, especially given interest expressed by Cruise andVal Kilmer.[18]
Cruise revealed in June 2017 that the sequel would be titledTop Gun: Maverick, noting that he did not want a number in the title.[19] He added that the film is "going to be a competition film, similar to the first one", but clarified it as "a progression for Maverick".[20][21] By July 2017,Joseph Kosinski was announced as the director, after previously collaborating with Cruise onOblivion (2013).[22][23] Kosinski met with Cruise on the set ofMission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), providing alookbook, a poster, and a title,Top Gun: Maverick, prior to his hiring. Cruise then contactedJim Gianopulos and requested to make the film.[24]
On June 19, 2019, atCineEurope inBarcelona, attendees were given a first look at some early footage of the film from a special Paramount presentation which ended with the Paramount President of International Theatrical Distribution Mark Viane and co-president of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution Mary Daily appearing in full flight gear.[25] In 2019, China'sTencent invested 12.5% of the film but later pulled out of the project at the end of that year over concerns that the film's themes could anger the Chinese government.[26]
Writing
By mid-2010,Christopher McQuarrie received an offer to write the sequel's screenplay, which was rumored to have Cruise's character Maverick in a smaller role.[27] The following year,Ashley Edward Miller andZack Stentz were credited as screenwriters on the project.[28] The studio would later move ontoPeter Craig to draft a new script under Scott's direction in March 2012.[29] However, the project unexpectedly stalled due to Scott's suicide in August of that year.[30] Scott had apparently finalized the script and begun scouting locations with him and Cruise touringNaval Air Station Fallon,Nevada, a week before his death.[31]The Hollywood Reporter said theTop Gun sequel was one of three directing projects in "advanced development".[32] In March 2014, Bruckheimer said the filmmakers were taking a new approach, which involved pilots being rendered obsolete bydrones.[33]
In September 2014, the sequel was officially revived.Justin Marks entered negotiations to write the screenplay.[34] Marks said that the sequel toTop Gun was his "dream project" and that the original was "an iconic film in his memory" that inspired him to write screenplays.[35] He researched theF-35Joint Strike Fighter to gain insight into "how Top Gun would be represented in the current period".[35]
"Maverick in that film was in his early twenties and now he's in his fifties. It had to be a different journey, but it was important it was a journey for a man at a different part of his life. We think ofTop Gun as an action film, but I think of it as a drama. It has some incredible action scenes in it, but there is a drama at the center of it."
— Kosinski, on the new script ofTop Gun: Maverick[36]
During scripting discussions inParis in 2017, where Cruise was shooting forMission: Impossible – Fallout, Kosinski pitched two ideas to Cruise.[24][37] The first focused on the severed relationship between Maverick and Goose's son, set against a dangerous combat mission. The second focused on Maverick's current place in the Navy as part of the "Darkstar" program and the secrecy surrounding it.[37] With Kosinski in place as director,Only the Brave (2017) screenwriterEric Warren Singer boarded the film to rewrite the script by August 2017.[38][39] In October 2018, McQuarrie, a frequent collaborator of Cruise, was brought in for rewrites during production.[40] McQuarrie opted to mostly ignore the first film during the writing process in order to make a film that could stand on its own merits without trying to outdo the original. He also flew with theBlue Angels in preparation.[41] By January 2020, final screenplay credits were given toEhren Kruger, Singer, and McQuarrie, while story credit was attributed to Craig and Marks.[42][43]
Cruise's involvement inTop Gun: Maverick was announced in January 2016.[44] He was paid between $12 and $14 million[45] plus aportion of the film's box office gross, which totaled more than $100 million.[46]Val Kilmer, now cancer-free, had campaigned on hisFacebook page to reprise his role in the film.[47] In June 2018,TheWrap reported that he would appear in the film.[48] Bruckheimer and the filmmakers wanted to bring Kilmer back, especially with Cruise's insistence.[49] A trailer released in March 2022 featured a photograph of Kilmer wearing a uniform of a four-star admiral. In July 2018,Miles Teller was cast in the role of Goose's son, againstNicholas Hoult andGlen Powell.[50] Later that month,Jennifer Connelly joined the film's cast to play a single mother running a bar near the naval base.[51][52]
In August 2018, Powell joined the cast in a pilot trainee role that was enlarged for him, having impressed Cruise, Bruckheimer, and executives at Paramount andSkydance Media, with his auditions.[53] He was cast as the arrogant "Hangman" (originally named "Slayer" when he read the script). Powell was initially unimpressed by the prospect of taking the role, feeling the character was a unidimensional "dick garnish" and a "NavyDraco Malfoy" with no payoff nor reason to exist other than adding conflict to "Rooster"'scharacter arc. Cruise, Bruckheimer, Kosinski, and McQuarrie managed to convince him that he could shape his performance to make "Hangman" a more well-rounded character. Cruise advised Powell on body language in different cultures, helping him to play "Hangman" so that global audiences would emotionally connect with the character.[54] In the same month,Monica Barbaro,Thomasin McKenzie,Charles Parnell,Jay Ellis,Bashir Salahuddin,Danny Ramirez,Ed Harris,Jon Hamm, andLewis Pullman joined the cast of the film; Barbaro, Pullman, Ellis, and Ramirez portrayed aviator trainees, while McKenzie was to portray the daughter of Connelly's character.[55][56][57]
According to interviews withVanity Fair andGQ,Lewis Hamilton was offered a fighter pilot role because of his friendship with Cruise but turned down the offer because of hisFormula One commitments.[66][67]
To create the illusion that the actors were piloting the jets during flying scenes, the producers paid the Navy $11,374 per flight hour for F/A-18E (single seat) and F/A-18F (dual seat) Super Hornets and pilots to fly them. For external shots, real Navy pilots flew the E version. For shots of the actors in flight, the F version was used with the actual pilot in the front seat.[68] One F/A-18F was rigged with special cameras to film an actor in the back seat. Cruise designed a three-month "boot camp" to train the actors with flying roles to get them used to aerobatics and highg-forces, as well as build the spatial awareness they would need to operate the camera equipment. Some of the training was required by the Navy for passengers in tactical jets, including underwater evacuation.[69] Barbaro said the cast endured aerobatics riding in theExtra 300L flown byChuck Coleman, including right before flights in the F/A-18F, to ensure their bodies had the required tolerance. She also praised the female pilots she had worked with during the filming process, and commented that while the "military aviation community [is] progressive, there's no way that [sexism] doesn't still exist in little moments here and there. It's par for the course for women in historically male-dominated spaces. So I was glad we kept that in."[70] The actors also had to learn lighting, cinematography, and editing to properly run the cameras, because, according to Bruckheimer "when they're up in the jet, they have to direct themselves, essentially."[71]
Preliminary production on the film officially started on May 30, 2018, inSan Diego.[72][73] Although the real-life Top Gun school had been moved toNaval Air Station Fallon in Nevada since the events of the first film, the story was set in San Diego atNaval Air Station North Island.[74] The crew did film aerial shots at Naval Air Station Fallon.[75] In late August, a 15-person film crew from Paramount and Bruckheimer Films shotflight deck operations aboard theNorfolk-based aircraft carrierUSS Abraham Lincoln.[76][77] In mid-February 2019, Cruise and the production crew were sighted on boardUSS Theodore Roosevelt at NAS North Island.[78] In March, filming in theCascade Mountains was completed out ofNaval Air Station Whidbey Island inOak Harbor, Washington, where routes were scouted by helicopter and the L-39 before filming the F/A-18s.[75][79][80] On June 19, 2019, Miles Teller revealed in an interview that he had finished filming two days earlier.[81] Principal photography was scheduled until April 15, 2019, in San Diego,Lemoore,China Lake,[82]Chico,[83] andLake Tahoe in California;[84]Seattle;[85] andPatuxent River, Maryland.[86] The low-pass scene with Ed Harris was filmed at China Lake with flying a Blue Angels plane at less than 50 ft (15 m) around 450 kn (520 mph; 830 km/h), which on the 20th and last pass pulled roofing material from the guard shack flying off held only byromex cable.[75] The post-production and editing works were supervised by Kosinski at his home during theCOVID-19 pandemic lockdown.[87]
The film was shot inIMAX format using IMAX-certified Sony Venice 6Kfull-frame cameras.[88] Kosinski said that the team spent more than a year withNavy forces to use the IMAX cameras inside the cockpit. Four were directed towards the actor and two were faced outwards, accompanied by numerous cameras mounted on the aircraft's exterior. He said "the audience should feel the authenticity, strain, speed and gravitational forces, something that cannot be achieved through soundstage or visual effects, which needed a tremendous amount of effort and work."NAVAIR engineers usedwind tunnel testing andcomputer modeling to rig cameras to the aircraft to withstand the speeds and g-forces sustained during maneuvering and carrier landings while maintaining safety in the event of ejection.[75][36] The crew shot the aerial footage outside the F/A-18s withgimbal-stabilized cameras on three platforms: a nose-mounted rig on one of two modifiedAero L-39 Albatros that could film at 350 kn (403 mph; 648 km/h) and 3 g, nose- and tail-mounted cameras on anEmbraer Phenom 300, and a nose-mounted rig on anAirbus AS350 helicopter.[89][90][79] More than 800 hours of aerial footage was shot for the film,[75] exceeding the combined footage shot for the films in theLord of the Rings trilogy.[91]
The set of the Hard Deck bar, inspired by the real-life "I-Bar", was constructed on the beach at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, California with permission from the Navy.[92][93]
Aircraft
For most of the planes including theF/A-18E/F, the production crew acquired 20 working aircraft from all over the US. Hindle said that Kosinski had made specifications for every detail during design, including the helmets, suits, props, and several others.[93]
Darkstar
The fictional "Darkstar" aircraft was designed with help from engineers fromLockheed Martin and itsSkunk Works division. A full-scale mockup of the aircraft was built and filmed at China Lake.[94] Kosinski said, "The reason we approached Skunk Works is because I wanted to make the most realistic hypersonic aircraft we possibly could. In fact, as you saw, we built it full-scale in cooperation with them. But the reason it looks so real is because it was the engineers from Skunk Works who helped us design it. So those are the same people who are working on real aircraft who helped us design Darkstar for this film."[95] Lockheed denied that Darkstar is related to the uncrewedLockheed Martin SR-72, whose existence the company has never confirmed.[96]
F-14
A screenshot of the F-14 Tomcat, fromTop Gun: Maverick. For the dogfighting scene, the jet was shown completely through visual effects.
Production designer Jeremy Hindle said that using aF-14 Tomcat (which is featured in the first film) would have been difficult. "There are no F-14s that fly because they [have been decommissioned in the U.S.] and all the engines have been taken out of them."[93] He said that they were not able to use the active F-14 Tomcats inIran, the only other country that acquired the aircraft, due tosanctions.[93] The U.S. scuttled or disabled its vast fleet of F-14s once they were retired to prevent the illicit export of spare parts.[97]
With help from the Navy, the production team secured one F-14A from theSan Diego Air & Space Museum inCalifornia.[98] Hindle described further challenges, including dismantling and shipping the plane's components, and making the aircraft as functional as possible, though still without engines.[93]
Post-production
Visual effects (VFX) artist Fred Lyn saidCGI was used extensively in the film. TheF-14 andSu-57 were visualized entirely by computer,[99] while the F/A-18 dogfighting and final strike scenes were shot with a single jet, producing footage that was used to create multiple jets onscreen.[99]
The film had about 2,400 VFX shots, all produced under visual effects supervisor Ryan Tudhope. Most work was done byMethod Studios andMPC Film, thoughLola VFX and Blind provided the 2D motion graphics, training visualizations, and the jet's head-up displays.[100]
Skywalker Sound worked on sound design and temp mixing for the film. They created aviation sound effects, working closely withGE Aviation, a jet engine manufacturer out ofCincinnati.[101] Final sound editing and mixing inDolby Atmos and IMAX was handled by London-based Soundbyte Studios[102] andTwickenham Film Studios. Recording mixers Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor worked in two theaters with different audio configurations to complete the mixes, which took place in June and July 2020.[103]
After his treatment and operation for throat cancer, Val Kilmer lost his ability to speak effectively.[104] In 2021, he worked with Sonantic, a UK-based software company that specializes invoice synthesis, to digitally recreate his voice usingAI technology and archived audio recordings of his voice.[105] The collaboration with Sonantic led to a successful vocal model program that Kilmer could apply in future projects.[105][106] ForTop Gun: Maverick, however, this technology was not used. DirectorJoseph Kosinski said in an interview that they used Kilmer's actual voice, digitally altering it to increase clarity.[107]
Footage from the original film was used in a scene where Maverick watches Rooster playing "Great Balls of Fire" on the piano, invoking memories of Goose's family and death.[108] The footage was used as a flashback, to help explain the characters' relationship and to deepen the emotional conflicts involved. This was not planned in the original script; Kosinski introduced the idea in the film editing phase.[109]
In July 2024, actorManny Jacinto, in regards to having his lines cut from the finished film, said that "Tom Cruise is writing stories for Tom Cruise" and that "There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I can see them focusing the camera more on these [other] guys and not taking so much time on our scenes."[110]
The film's firstteaser trailer premiered during a surprise appearance by Cruise atSan Diego Comic-Con on July 18, 2019.[116][117] The firsttrailer received high praise from fans, with many lauding the return of the series and some comparing it toStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.[118]The Hollywood Reporter wrote that some fans noticed that theflag of the Republic of China[h] and theFlag of Japan were missing from theflight jacket of Cruise's character and accused Paramount of removing it to appease China-based co-financierTencent Pictures.[119] However, the Republic of China and Japanese flags were later restored, as Tencent would end up pulling out of the production, leading to them being uncredited in the final film and, instead, the producers chose to not release the movie in China.[120][121] The second trailer was released in December 2019,[122] and a newSnapchat filter for the film was introduced by Paramount to engage "young-generation audiences".[123]
In February 2020, toy manufacturerMatchbox (owned by Mattel) announced that it was releasing a series ofTop Gun die-cast models and products, including the F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and the P-51 Mustang, as well asrole-play items. They were scheduled for public release on June 1, 2020, despite the delayed theatrical release.[124] In June 2020, plastic model manufacturerRevell released a series of 1/48 scaleTop Gun plastic models, including anF-14A Tomcat and an F/A-18E Super Hornet based upon the aircraft in the movie. These are versions of previous Revell offerings with modified decals and markings.[125] In July 2020,Hasbro announced aTop Gun-themedTransformers toy, "Maverick", which was released later in the year.[126][127] Hasbro later re-released the toy as aWalmart exclusive to tie into the film's final release date.[128]
On August 26, 2021, the first 13 minutes of the film were previewed atCinemaCon along with a new trailer with Tom Cruise marking his presence virtually at the event.[129] In January 2022, CBS Sports released a new clip from the film, coinciding with theAFC Championship Game between theKansas City Chiefs and theCincinnati Bengals.[130] In February 2022, the final trailer of the film tied toPorsche was aired beforeSuper Bowl LVI.[131] In April 2022, Project ACES, the developers of theAce Combat series, announced the release of an aircraft collaboration DLC forAce Combat 7: Skies Unknown withTop Gun: Maverick, released on May 26, a day before the film's release.[132][133] A free expansion based onTop Gun Maverick was also released forMicrosoft Flight Simulator on the same day, containing the F/A-18E/F Superhornet and fictional "Darkstar" planes as playable aircraft.[134] An interactive website was also launched on the same month.[135] On May 23, Cruise collaborated withThe Late Late Show hostJames Corden for recreating a fighter sequence as a part of promotions.[136][137]
In Japan, the movie collaborated withUma Musume Pretty Derby, naming the personification of the racehorseMayano Top Gun as a special advertising pilot. It included Mayano Top Gun as Maverick in an alternate version of the movie poster.[142] Four of their voice actresses – including Mio Hoshitani, who plays Mayano Top Gun – also attended the Japanese premiere in Yokohama as part of Paramount's event coverage and met Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer.[143]
Top Gun: Maverick was generally released theatrically byParamount Pictures in the United States on May 27, 2022 - after a TopGun Tuesday premier at selectScreenX theaters[144] andAMC Theatres[145] at limited locations across the United States on May 24, 2022. and advance screenings starting May 26.[146] It was originally scheduled to be released on July 12, 2019, but was delayed to June 26, 2020, in order to shoot several complex action sequences.[147] By March 2020, Paramount moved the film up two days early on June 24, 2020,[148] and it was then moved to December 23 due to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic declared by theWorld Health Organization.[149][150] On July 23, 2020, the film was delayed again to July 2, 2021, partly due to scheduling conflicts with Cruise, as well as the recent delays ofMulan andTenet due to the rise ofCOVID-19 cases,[151] and was further delayed to November 19, 2021,[152] before being pushed back further to a May 2022 release date.[146]
Apple TV+ attempted to purchase the distribution rights toTop Gun: Maverick, but Paramount declined to sell them. When asked at the film's CinemaCon premiere about Apple and other streaming companies attempting to purchase the distribution rights, Bruckheimer said that the film had always had a big-screen destination. At the film's premiere at Cannes, Cruise also denied that the film was going to streaming.[159][160][161] Despite the model that most films at the time debuted on streaming 45 days after their theatrical releases,[162] Paramount decided to keepTop Gun: Maverick in theaters for an extended run due to Cruise's insistence and the successive week-to-week box office results of the film. The film was released digitally in standard definition, high definition and UHD on August 23, 2022, followed by theUltra HD Blu-ray,Blu-ray, andDVD releases on November 1, 2022, in the United States[163] and October 31, 2022, in the United Kingdom.[164] It includes theexpanded aspect ratio of 1.90:1 in select sequences as seen inIMAX screenings, fourfeaturettes on the making of the film, Cruise discussing his career at the 75th Cannes Film Festival and two music videos of the songs featured in the film.[165]
Paramount+ andSkyShowtime (under the joint venture between bothParamount Global andSky Group) madeTop Gun: Maverick available to stream on December 22, 2022, as part of a customer's subscription to either service.[166][167] In the United States,Top Gun: Maverick became the most-watched film to debut on Paramount+.[168]
Reception
Box office
Top Gun: Maverick grossed $718.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $777 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.496 billion.[4][5] The film became the highest-grossing film ofCruise's career on June 17, 2022, after crossing $800 million worldwide.[169] On June 26, the film crossed $1 billion, becoming the second film to do so during thepandemic era.[170][171] It is thesecond-highest-grossing film released in 2022 (behindAvatar: The Way of Water).[172] Sonny Bunch, writing forThe Washington Post, argued that the film's financial success along with that ofSpider-Man: No Way Home demonstrates that securing a theatrical release in China is not mandatory for a Hollywood film to be profitable.[121]Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $391.1million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it second on their list of 2022's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".[2]
In the United States and Canada,Top Gun: Maverick was the highest-grossing film released in 2022.[4][173] It grossed $126.7 million in its opening three-day weekend and $160.5 million over the four-dayMemorial Day weekend, finishing first at the box office and nearly doubling Cruise's previous career best. The film also had the largest Memorial Day four-day opening weekend.[174] Its Memorial Day weekend record was later broken in 2025 byLilo & Stitch ($183 million).[175] In its second weekend, it grossed $90 million; the 29% drop was the smallest ever for a film that had an opening of over $100 million, surpassingShrek 2 (33% drop in its second weekend from a $108 million debut in May 2004).[176] The film was dethroned by newcomerJurassic World Dominion in its third weekend, but still grossed $51.9 million.[177] The film remained in the top five at the box office throughout its first ten weeks of release.[178] The film finally dropped out of the top five at the box office in its 11th weekend, finishing sixth with $7 million.[179] In its 12th weekend, the film was re-released in over 400 theaters and made $7.1 million, returning to second place.[180][181] In its 15th weekend, the film made $6 million (and a total of $7.9 million over the four-dayLabor Day frame), returning to the top of the box office.[182] Box office analysts attributed the film's longevity at the box office to positive critical reviews and word of mouth.[183][184]
Outside the US and Canada, the film grossed $124 million from 62 markets in its opening weekend. It was Cruise's biggest opening ever in 32 of those markets and Paramount's best opening for a live-action film in 18 of them. The largest markets in its opening weekend were the United Kingdom ($19.4 million), France ($11.7 million), Australia ($10.7 million), Japan ($9.7 million), and Germany ($6.5 million). The film had the best debut of Cruise's career in the Middle East ($6.3 million), Brazil ($5.3 million), the Netherlands ($2.4 million), Sweden ($2.2 million), Belgium ($1.7 million), New Zealand ($1.4 million), Poland ($1.2 million), Argentina ($1.2 million), Finland ($1.1 million) and Portugal ($770,000). IMAX accounted for $10.4 million of its opening weekend outside the US and Canada.[185] The following weekend, it made $85.8 million, a mere 16% drop that included $18.5 million from IMAX screenings.[186] As of May 1, 2024[update], the top markets are the United Kingdom ($103.4 million), Japan ($101.7 million), South Korea ($67.2 million), Australia ($64.3 million) and France ($59.8 million).[187]
Critical response
Many critics found the film better than its predecessor and described it as one of the best Tom Cruise films of all time.[6]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 96% of 476 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Top Gun: Maverick pulls off a feat even trickier than a 4G inverted dive, delivering a long-belated sequel that surpasses its predecessor in wildly entertaining style."[188]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 63 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[189] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film a rare "A+" grade on an A+ to F scale, whilePostTrak reported 96% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 84% saying they would definitely recommend it.[174]
Pete Hammond ofDeadline Hollywood thoughtMaverick was better than the first film.[190]The New York Times-based criticA. O. Scott called it a "thin, over-strenuous and sometimes very enjoyable movie" and "an earnest statement of the thesis that movies can and should be great."[191]Peter Bradshaw wrote inThe Guardian that "Cruise presides over some surprising differences from his first outing as the navy pilot hotshot in a film that's missing the homoerotic tensions of the 80s original."[192]Alonso Duralde ofTheWrap opined that the film "counts as a worthy sequel in that it succeeds and fails in many of the same ways as the original."[193]Mark Kermode, writing inThe Guardian, saw the film as an "eye-popping blockbuster" which "manages to take your breath away".[194]
Entertainment.ie's Brian Lloyd's 4-star review said the film "exceeds with flying colours" and "exists in a world that is all of its own making. There are goldensunsets, perfectly crisp whitet-shirts, exquisitely coiffed hair, and long-held flames of romance that make it all impossible to resist."[195] Clarrise Loughery, chief editor ofThe Independent, wrote that the film is "as thrilling as blockbusters get. It's the kind of edge-of-your-seat, fist-pumping spectacular that can unite an entire room full of strangers sitting in the dark and leave them with a wistful tear in their eye."[196]Richard Brody ofThe New Yorker characterized it as more of a reimagining than a direct sequel, integrating contemporary political themes into the aerial combat drama of the 1986 film.[197] Tomris Laffly ofRogerEbert.com highlighted its emotional depth, emphasizing its unexpectedly powerful impact on audiences.[198]
In June 2025,IndieWire ranked the film at number 7 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."[199]
Industry response
On August 3, 2022, filmmakerQuentin Tarantino calledTop Gun: Maverick "fantastic", as the film, alongsideSteven Spielberg'sWest Side Story, "provided a true cinematic spectacle, the kind that I'd almost thought that I wasn't going to see anymore." As a long-time admirer of the originalTop Gun director, the lateTony Scott, he added: "There was just this lovely, lovely aspect because I love both Tony Scott's cinema so much, and I love Tony so much that that's as close as we're ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie ... The respect and the love of Tony was in every frame. It was almost in every decision. It was consciously right there, but in this really cool way that was really respectful."[200] Spielberg himself also praised the film as having "saved the entire theatrical industry”.[201]
Ridley Scott, Tony's older brother with whom Cruise worked on the 1985 filmLegend, was given a private screening forMaverick.[202][203] Bruckheimer stated, "One of the most heartwarming things I experienced is when we showed the movie to Tony's brother, Ridley. He was laudatory in his praise for the film and the kind of care that Tom took to honor Tony throughout the movie. That was foremost in everybody's mind." However,Fede Álvarez, director ofAlien: Romulus (produced by Scott), later stated that Scott had more negative feelings onMaverick. Álvarez stated "I asked him about the newTop Gun and he's like 'meh.' I'm like, 'What are you talking about?' And he was like, 'My brother's was original and this is like eh.' He really respected it, but you could see how tough he was."[202][203][204] The film was dedicated to Scott's memory.[205]
In June 2022, the family of Israeli author Ehud Yonay, whose May 1983California magazine article "Top Guns" inspired the original film, filed a lawsuit against Paramount. They accused the studio of copyright infringement related to the release ofTop Gun: Maverick and sought both damages and an injunction to halt the film's distribution. Jerry Bruckheimer produced the original film, whose screenplay was written byJim Cash (died 2000) and Jack Epps Jr.; all three men participated in the sequel.[217] According to the lawsuit, Paramount had obtained exclusive film rights to Yonay's article but ignored the35-year copyright law, wherein the rights reverted to Yonay's widow Shosh and son Yuval in January 2020 after the writer's death in 2012.[218]
The lawsuit claimed thatMaverick contains elements similar to the original article and that Paramount continued with the filming, even after receiving notice of the copyright's termination. The film distributor considered most of the sequel to have been complete before then and denied thatMaverick was derived from Yonay's article.[219][220]A court dismissed the suit in April 2024, noting thatTop Gun: Maverick and the magazine article were notsimilar beyond their treatment ofunprotectable historical facts.[221][222]
2025 Shaun Gray lawsuit
In April 2025, Shaun Gray, cousin ofMaverick co-screenwriterEric Singer, brought a lawsuit assertingjoint authorship of the film. Gray claimed that he had written key scenes and "actively participated in story meetings with Singer and the Film's director,Joseph Kosinski," but was not under a traditionalwork for hire contract with Paramount and so retained copyright to his contributions.[223][224] In July, JudgeJed S. Rakoff dismissed Gray's joint authorship claim but allowed hisalternative claim of copyright infringement to continue.[225][226] In August, Paramount Global broughtcounterclaims of infringement as well as fraud, alleging that Gray had "effectively admitted to infringing" the company's copyright in its pre-existingTop Gun material, as he had not been under a contract with Paramount when he contributed scenes to the film and therefore had produced an unauthorizedderivative work.[227]
Sequel
In May 2022, Teller revealed that he had beenpitching a sequel, which would be tentatively titledTop Gun: Rooster and centered on his character, to Paramount Pictures.[228] By July of the same year, he stated that he has been having ongoing discussions with Cruise regarding a sequel.[229] In January 2024, it was reported that a sequel is in development.[230][231] In May 2025, Christopher McQuarrie confirmed he was writingTop Gun 3.[232]
^Navy Personnel Command stated that a captain with more than 35 years of service like Maverick would be very unusual, but not impossible.[7]
^A two-seat F/A-18 points a laser at the target to assist other strike aircraft in dropping their laser-guided bombs, a tactic known as buddy lazing.[8]
^Penny Benjamin's name was given in theprevious movie by Goose to identify the "admiral's daughter" mentioned by the air group commander, Commander Tom "Stinger" Jardian, and later Carole Bradshaw, Goose's wife, mentioned Penny Benjamin by name.
^McCall, Kevin (July 31, 2022)."'Top Gun: Maverick' Soars Towards $1.3 Billion at the Global Box Office".Collider.Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. RetrievedAugust 7, 2022.With the film's dominance at the box office, Top Gun: Maverick's performance continues to soar to new heights at the box office. Starring Tom Cruise as Maverick, the film's performance at the box office has gained wide recognition for its strong legs due which can be attributed to its positive word-of-mouth with the receiving a rare A+ on Cinemascore.
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