SATURDAY UPDATE: After a $24.5M Friday in 62 overseas markets, Paramount/Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick has now grossed $64.7M through yesterday at the international box office. This portends an offshore opening weekend for the Tom Cruise-starrer at $110M+. Including domestic’s projected $150M four-day holiday frame, that would take the worldwide bow to $260M+.
An international launch at $110M+ would rep a Cruise career-best, coming in above Mission: Impossible – Fallout which did $96M in like-for-like markets.
The debut on the Joseph Kosinski-directed sequel is particularly impressive given Russia is not in the mix and that Korea doesn’t release for another month. Global audiences clearly have not lost that lovin’ feeling for Maverick, even after 36 years. Exhibitors offshore are also adding screens with the count now at 25,000.
Individual market milestones continue to be reached, with all majors debuting at No. 1. The UK bowed at No. 1 on Friday with $4M and a 76% market share. This is the biggest opening day for a Tom Cruise movie and also for a live-action Paramount title. The cume there, with previews rolled in, is $10M.
Japan opened Friday at No. 1 grossing an excellent $2.6M at 381 locations. This is a big Cruise market and the massive premiere event is paying dividends.
France continued its great roll with another $2.3M on Friday at 790 cinemas. The cume through Friday is $8.2M. Australia added $2M yesterday at 343 sites for a running $4.5M total Germany picked up another $1.5M on Friday at 701 with a $3.9M cume to date. Brazil has cumed $3.1M through Friday and Mexico $2.8M.
We’ll have a full update on Sunday.
PREVIOUS, FRIDAY: Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick is soaring in its overseas debuts, clocking $33M from 47 markets at the international box office through Thursday. The Tom Cruise-starrer officially launched on Wednesday offshore, following paid previews in some hubs, and adds another 15 markets today, bringing the total to 62 in what is the studio’s widest release ever internationally on nearly 24,000 screens.
Word of mouth is sky high on the sequel that comes 36 years after the original summer blockbuster, and an $80M+ overseas opening weekend is assured.
Highlights so far include France, which bowed Wednesday to $1.8M, scoring the biggest opening day for a Paramount live-action title and also for Cruise in the market. Thursday added $2.9M for the best Ascension Day opening of any movie there ever. Rolled up with previews, the France cume through Thursday is $5.9M. The movie has 4.5 stars out of 5 from audiences who are turning out in the cities and the provinces across varied demos.
In Australia, Thursday’s debut was $1.5M for a $2.5M total including previews. This is Cruise’s biggest opening day ever Down Under. Germany debuted to $1.6M for a $2.5M cume with previews. Brazil likewise has cumed $2.5M so far while Mexico is at $2.1M.
New markets added today on the pic that’s co-financed and co-produced by Skydance, include the UK, Spain and Japan. Overall, the movie is on track to be Cruise’s top opening of all time internationally — as well as domestically.
Awareness is through the roof on Maverick, and a shoutout is deserved for the Paramount marketing team, and the indefatigable Cruise.
The promotional campaign has very likely been visible from space. The film screened for exhibition in Las Vegas (where cheers and sniffles were audible from the audience) and then world premiered in San Diego with Cruise arriving via helicopter on the deck of the USS Midway. From there, the team traveled to Mexico City and then on to Cannes where the film was greeted with a flyover and Cruise was feted by the festival with an honorary Palme d’Or and a sustained standing ovation.
The next day, the Top Gun crew was in London for the Royal Film Performance. In Japan, the Yokohama Osanbashi Pier featured a fireworks display ahead of the premiere in IMAX, all of which was livestreamed into four additional IMAX theaters around the country.
“And, we’re off,” as Bashir Salahuddin’s Hondo tells Maverick. We’ll have more updates throughout the weekend.