Holy Smokes! ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Flies Higher Than Expected With $90 Million in Second Weekend

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterTom Cruise’s star-spangled blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” soared higher than expected in its second weekend of release.The Paramount and Skydance movie collected $90 million over the weekend, above Sunday’s estimates of $86 million.

Thanks to positive word of mouth, rapturous reviews and premium screens, ticket sales declined only 29% in its second weekend — the lowest percentage in history for a movie that debuted to $100 million or more, according to Comscore. “Top Gun: Maverick” debuted to a staggering $160 million over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend.Though a peculiar statistic, the scant second-weekend drop is impressive because big-budget blockbusters — even well-received ones — tend to plummet by at least 50% after scoring huge opening weekends.

By comparison, recent tentpoles “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” each declined 67% in its sophomore outing, while Robert Pattinson’s “The Batman” fell 50% in its second weekend.

After only 10 days in theaters, “Top Gun: Maverick” has grossed $295 million at the domestic box office, enough to overtake 2005’s “War of the Worlds” ($243 million) as Cruise’s highest-grossing film in North America.Internationally, the film has eclipsed $257 million, bringing its global tally past $550 million.