Top Gun: Maverick has beaten Avengers: Infinity War to become the sixth highest-grossing movie in US box office history. The Tom Cruise blockbuster collected $679 million in North America edging past the $678 million the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project made. 

This feat is rather impressive considering the 2018 MCU project had a considerable amount of buildup and was the first instalment in a two-part conclusion, which culminated in Endgame. The movie came after 20 Marvel films, many of which were box office successes over 10 years. Top Gun: Maverick is more of a standalone movie in this regard, though it follows the 1986 original, which also stars Tom Cruise as the daredevil US Naval pilot. 

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While the 60-year-old Mission Impossible actor is a hero in his own right, there were lesser guarantees of Top Gun: Maverick being a box office success, taking the 30-year gap between the two releases into account. 

Excellent word-of-mouth reviews and repeat customers have been the driving forces behind the film’s success, and if it surpasses the $700 million mark, it could edge past Marvel’s Black Panther and enter the list of five highest grossing movies at the US box office. There’s not much competition for Maverick now, though the stream of viewers has dwindled since the Memorial Day opening.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases in November, which will loom over all else at the box office at the time, and Disney might release the Chadwick Boseman-starring original prior to the sequel, and it might go on to make even more money beyond the 700 odd million dollars. 

Top Gun: Maverick has done immensely well in global markets as well, earning over $700 million, without being screened in China and Russia – two of the biggest foreign markets. The film has broken other milestones, including setting the Memorial Day weekend opening record and becoming the first Cruise movie to make over a $100 million in the first weekend.