'Top Gun: Maverick' becomes 5th highest-grossing movie of all time at domestic box office
Tom Cruise's latest movie is also the actor's top-grossing film of all time
"Top Gun: Maverick" became the 5th top-grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office over Labor Day weekend.
"Top Gun: Maverick" currently has earned $701.23 million, passing "Black Panther" at $700.4 million.
Cruise's latest hit film also beat out "Spider-Man: No Way Home" for the No. 2 spot over the three-day weekend. "Top Gun: Maverick" took home $7.9 million, according to Deadline.
The "Top Gun" sequel is also the top-grossing film of 2022 and Cruise's top-grossing film of all time.
"It’s without a doubt, that ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a true cultural touchstone embodying the power of the cinematic experience," Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures, said in a statement to Deadline.
Tom Cruise's "Top Gun: Maverick" lands spot as 5th highest-grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office. The film recently passed "Black Panther" on the list. (EPK / Fox News)
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"As we celebrate this enormous achievement and the film’s massive impact, we want to extend our gratitude to Tom Cruise, our filmmakers and cast, Paramount’s marketing and distribution teams, and the legions of both new and longtime ‘Top Gun’ fans who keep turning out to enjoy this remarkable movie."
Despite being one of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters, Cruise had never had a bigger opening since 2005’s "War of the Worlds" with Dakota Fanning. The science-fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg grossed $64.9 million during Memorial Day weekend of that year.
Comscore also noted "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" earned $61.2 million in 2018, but Cruise’s other films have all opened to less than $60 million.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in "Top Gun: Maverick." (Paramount Pictures)
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Cruise said "Top Gun" would "never" make its theatrical debut on a streaming network despite years of setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked if he felt pressure to release the film in any capacity on a streaming network, Cruise assured the audience it would never happen.
"That was not going to happen ever," Cruise said while laughing in excerpts published on The Hollywood Reporter. "That was never going to happen."
Cruise recalled picking up his phone and calling each cast member every time the movie's release date was pushed back just to reassure everyone to remain calm and focused on what they created.
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Monica Barbaro and Tom Cruise on the set of "Top Gun: Maverick." (EPK / Fox News)
Days before the worldwide shutdown in March 2020, Paramount moved the film up two days early for a release on June 24, 2020, but that was subsequently pushed back to Dec. 23. In July 2020, the film received another new schedule change by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cruise's schedule, and "Mulan" and "Tenet" being scheduled for release on the same days.
The studio's scheduling woes continued when the film was pushed back again in April 2021 for a November release and again in September 2021, when executives finally landed on the May 27, 2022, launch date.
Fox News' Tracy Wright contributed to this report.