Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterWhen “Top Gun: Maverick” takes flight in North American theaters on Friday, ticket sales for the oft-delayed tentpole may break through the stratosphere.Thanks to stellar reviews and a healthy dose of nostalgia, Paramount and Skydance’s star-spangled action film — starring Tom Cruise as a fighter pilot who feels the need for speed — is expected to generate a blockbuster $85 million to $100 million over the weekend.
Through Memorial Day on Monday, domestic box office receipts could fly as high as $130 million. “Maverick” is playing in 4,732 North American cinemas, the widest theater count in history.The follow-up to 1986’s “Top Gun” was scheduled to open in the summer of 2020 until COVID-19 scrambled those plans.
But Paramount and Cruise were adamant about keeping the film in theaters rather than sending the sequel straight to a streaming service.
When Cruise was recently asked at Cannes Film Festival if the sequel would skip the big screen, he told the crowd: “That was never going to happen.
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