Top Gun: Maverick has biggest Memorial Day opening weekend of all time
Moviegoers felt the need for speed over Memorial Day weekend.
The long-delayed sequel Top Gun: Maverick grossed a massive $156 million over the four-day holiday weekend, the best debut for any Memorial Day release ever. The previous record was held by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which opened to $153 million in 2007. This was also easily the biggest opening for a movie starring Tom Cruise, surpassing $64 million for War of the Worlds.
Maverick's success was a great sign for movie theaters as the crucial summer movie season kicks off. The box office has seen a number of successful blockbusters over the past year, including Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman. But it was especially notable that Top Gun was such a success seeing as, unlike many of the biggest recent blockbuster hits, it's not a superhero movie.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Paramount also said over half of the audience who went to see Maverick this weekend was over 35. For comparison, only 31 percent of The Batman's opening weekend audience consisted of moviegoers over 35, according to Deadline. Maverick's opening, then, was also a win for getting older audiences to return to the movies, a hopeful sign for non-superhero films slated for this summer including Jordan Peele's Nope and Baz Luhrmann's Elvis.
National Association of Theatre Owners CEO John Fithian argued to The New York Times, in fact, that Maverick's big opening should officially end "the debate about a full recovery" at the box office.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
A Man on the Inside: Netflix comedy leaves you with a 'warm fuzzy feeling'
The Week Recommends Charming series has a 'tenderness' that will 'sneak up' on you
By The Week UK Published
-
Bread & Roses: an 'extraordinarily courageous' documentary
The Week Recommends Sahra Mani's 'powerful' film examines the lives of three Afghan women under the Taliban
By The Week UK Published
-
V13: a 'marvelous and terrifying' account of the Bataclan terror trials
The Week Recommends Emmanuel Carrère's work is 'absolutely gripping'
By The Week UK Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Can AI tools be used to Hollywood's advantage?
Talking Points It makes some aspects of the industry faster and cheaper. It will also put many people in the entertainment world out of work
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Movies to watch in November, including 'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II'
The Week Recommends A major musical adaptation, a Roman Empire sequel and a movie where Santa gets kidnapped
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
9 movies where food is the main course
The Week Recommends With films from Japan, France, Hong Kong, the US and Britain
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
5 new horror movies to jump-scare your way through Halloween
The Week Recommends A new take on Stephen King classic 'Salems Lot', a spooky take on late-night talk shows, and more
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published