Top Gun: Maverickmay be having absolute blast at the box office since its premiere, but it turns out Tom Cruise’s winning charm goes beyond movie theaters. Recent data shows the originalTop Gunis edging out current streaming heavy hitters likeStranger ThingsandObi-Wan Kenobi.
Oddly enough, this milestone forTop Guncomes shortly after the movie left the library of Netflix, where it resided (at least in the United States) until May 31, just a few days after the sequel’s worldwide premiere. While not as universally loved by critics asMaverick,the firstTop Gunmoviewas nonetheless an absolute commercial success, raking in over $350 million in earnings on a $15 million budget and driving a huge spike in recruitment for the Navy during that era.
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Now, according to data released by Reelgood,Top Gunbecame Amazon Prime Video’s number four title in the U.S. once it landed on the platform on June 1, just afterNight Sky,Outer Rangeand, of course,The Boys. Nevertheless, Cruise’s appeal propelled the film all the way to first place overall to close off the week, withTop Gunbeating the likes ofObi-Wan Kenobi,Stranger Things,The Lost City,The Lincoln Lawyer,Better Call Saul, andSonic the Hedgehog 2. This was all thanks to the combined user base of Amazon Prime Video and Paramount Plus.
Unlike the much more intricate data gathered by Nielsen, Reelgood’s numbers come from tracking a diverse group of 5 million users in the U.S. and don’t outright rely on minutes watched. It may be far from the perfect indicator, but overallinterest inTop Gundoes seem to beatObi-Wan Kenobiin several areas. This includes Google Trends searches, as more people care to find out just what happened before in Maverick’s life.
Unlike so many other reboots and sequels pushed in recent times,Top Gun: Maverickcan hold its own groundas a movie that doesn’t extensively rely on nostalgia, with only a couple of flashback sequences being slipped in to brief newcomers Captain Pete Mitchell’s past. Even if some have accused this newTop Guniteration of being just as overtly militaristic as the first one, it’s yet to be confirmed whether it has the same effect as the original when recruitment booths were placed right outside movie theaters.
Nevertheless, losing to a Cruise blockbuster should bring no shame toObi-Wan KenobinorStranger Things' mysterious season 4, and the same should apply whenTop Gun: Maverickeventually heads to Paramount Plus.
