Tom Cruise has been part of some of the biggest films in cinema history, but Top Gun: Maverick is breaking a key record previously set by the movie megastar as it is by far the biggest box office opening of his career.
ComicBook reports the sequel to the 1986 movie has enjoyed an opening weekend of $124 million (£98m) in the US and a take of $248 million (£196m) at the worldwide box office.
The movie, which sees Cruise get back into the cockpit as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell more than 30 years on from the original film, has received rave reviews and has been widely regarded as a more than worthy sequel.
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The original Top Gun was the highest grossing movie of 1986, raking in a domestic box office of $176 million (£139m).
Oddly enough, for a movie star as big as he is, Cruise is not actually known for having massive opening weekends at the box office.
Before Top Gun: Maverick went, his biggest box office was 2005's War of the Worlds, which opened at $64 million (£50 million).
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The next biggest opening of his career was 2018's Mission Impossible - Fallout, which took $61 million (£48m) in the US on its opening weekend.
Even though Cruise's films may not bring in gigantic crowds on their opening weekends, many of his movies perform strongly in the long run as they do well with word-of-mouth.
His biggest ever movie to date is Mission Impossible - Fallout, which took $791 million (£626m) worldwide over its run in cinemas, though at the rate Top Gun: Maverick is going it is likely to overtake the 2018 film for the top spot of Cruise's box office earners.
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Critics have been almost unanimous in their praise for Top Gun: Maverick, with Rotten Tomatoes noting that 96 percent of reviews for the film were positive while 99 percent of audiences gave it a thumbs up too.
The movie's box office take will have been helped by Cruise's refusal to allow it to debut on streaming services despite the numerous delays to filming caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
While it will likely land on streaming service Paramount Plus eventually, fans will either have to go to the cinema or wait longer than usual to watch it in the comfort of their own home.
Paramount usually put their films onto their streaming service 45 days after a theatrical release, but according to the Radio Times, it will be about three months before Top Gun: Maverick arrives.
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Top Gun: Maverick is in cinemas now.
Topics: Tom Cruise, Top Gun
Joe Harker