At this point, the “need for speed” jokes should’ve fully run their course. “Top Gun: Maverick” is entering its third month in theaters where it has far exceeded the initial box office projections, marked a career milestone for Tom Cruise by passing the $1 billion mark, and earned a global total of $1.2 billion. The film is currently ranked 11th among initial-run North American box-office earners and still, the money keeps pouring in.
So, since “Maverick” has no intention of slowing down, neither does our use of this joke. The need for speed continues with yet another record-breaking revelation! “Top Gun: Maverick” has become Paramount Pictures’ biggest movie ever at the domestic box office, overtaking James Cameron’s “Titanic.” That is to say … “Maverick” has enjoyed a bigger first run at the box office. But thanks to the massive boost from its 2012 theatrical re-release, Cameron’s disaster movie still reigns supreme.
Finally, an answer to the question we’ve all been asking: in a race between the Unsinkable Ship and Tom Cruise in a fighter jet, who would win? Technically speaking, “Titanic” still has the upper hand. The romantic disaster epic has racked up close to $660 million at the domestic box office when you combine its original run with its 2012 3D re-release, which added another $57.8 million domestically and $292.5 million internationally.
“Titanic” returned to theaters again in 2017, with a one-week run to celebrate its 20th anniversary that added another $691,642 to its domestic total. But it’s really that massive 2012 re-release, freshly remastered in 4K and painstakingly converted to 3D under Cameron’s supervision (at a reported cost of $18 million), that muddies the waters of Paramount’s box office rankings. To this day, the $350 million grossed by “Titanic 3D” holds the worldwide box office record for movie re-releases. But if you only consider the film’s initial domestic run, then it earned $600.8 million — a number that has now been surpassed by “Maverick.”
According to Box Office Mojo, the “Top Gun” sequel has earned a domestic total of $605.9 million, putting it well-above the original “Titanic” record. The best response to this news came from the actor behind one of Maverick’s new young charges. Glen Powell, who dazzles as the Iceman stand-in and apparent antagonist of the group, Hangman, tweeted out the news with the sweet-and-simple comment, “Callsign: Iceberg.” How very in-character of him.
proc. BY MOVIES