Paramount had been eager to produce a sequel to the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun for over three decades. Former Paramount Pictures head, Jim Gianopulos, finally struck a deal that proved to be actor Tom Cruise’s most profitable project to date, with better terms than any previous Mission: Impossible movie. Cruise was intrigued by director Joseph Kosinski’s proposal to feature real actors in fighter jets, having previously collaborated on the sci-fi film Oblivion.
To prepare for their roles as pilots, the actors participated in a mini-flight school, a step that was not taken during the first movie. David Ellison, a devoted fan of Top Gun, contributed 25% of the production’s funding, while Tencent, a Chinese company, had initially committed to co-financing but later withdrew, leaving New Republic to take on another 25% of the $177M net production cost, which included reshoots. The remaining 50% was covered by Paramount.
Even during the Covid pandemic, Cruise was committed to making the film perfect, resulting in reshoots and improvements to the aviation sequences and Jennifer Connelly’s character’s storyline. Christopher McQuarrie, who directed Cruise’s Mission: Impossible sequel and Jack Reacher, joined the production as a screenwriter a few weeks before shooting began in the summer of 2018 and remained a key player throughout production and editing.
Despite many studios streaming big-budget movies during cinema closures, Top Gun: Maverick was always destined for the big screen, as producer Jerry Bruckheimer emphasized at CinemaCon, where the film received an enthusiastic response, followed by a premiere in San Diego and a launch at the Cannes Film Festival, where Cruise was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ played a crucial role in enticing older, infrequent adult moviegoers back to theaters, ultimately becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2022 in the US at $718.7M, breaking numerous records, including Cruise’s best opening ever ($126.7M over three days, $248M worldwide) and highest-grossing movie ever ($1.49 billion globally), as well as setting the best domestic Memorial Day weekend opening record ($160.5M over four days) for both the holiday and Bruckheimer. While Avatar: The Way of Water eventually overtook it globally in December, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ continued to perform well in theaters, playing strongly coast to coast.