Top Gun: Maverick Passes $1B Mark … Becomes Highest-grossing Film of Tom Cruise’s Career

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Tom Cruise’s highly-anticipated film Top Gun: Maverick achieved another impressive milestone at the global box office this weekend as it crossed the $1 billion mark.

In addition to becoming the 59-year-old actor’s most successful film of all time, the sequel to 1986’s Top Gun became the first movie of 2022 to reach that rare benchmark after just 31 days in theaters. 

With those ticket sales, the movie dethroned Marvel’s superhero film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($943 million) as the highest-grossing movie of the year at the global box office. 

It’s a particularly tremendous feat as the COVID-19 pandemic effectively quashed traditional box office numbers after nearly a quarter of all American movie theaters were closed for 15 months. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home, which garnered more than $1.89 billion, is the only other film to hitthe $1 billion since coronavirus. 

Before Top Gun: Maverick became Cruise’s biggest hit, his film Mission: Impossible — Fallout held the top spot in his expansive filmography for earning $257 million globally.

The film was originally supposed to be released in June 2020, though Paramount decided to hold off on the release until more fans are able to return, a move that clearly paid off.