411 Box Office Report: Top Gun: Maverick Holds On Incredibly Well, Reigns For Second Weekend

It was a record sophomore frame for Top Gun: Maverick, which held on ridiculously well to top the box office again. The Tom Cruise-starring sequel was #1 with ease again, notching another $86 million. That’s down only 32% from last weekend, an unbelievable hold for an action film that started off as well as it did.

How good, you ask? Well, it was a record-setting second weekend. Maverick’s hold is the best for any film that opened over $100 million, edging out the 33% hold for Shrek 2 back in 2004. And considering that even well-regarded action films generally drop in the 50%-plus range, it’s especially impressive. (By comparison, the previous record for an action film that started over $100 million was 2002’s Spider-Man, which dropped 38%).

We knew that Maverick was going to hold on very well, but even by those standards this is big. The movie has grossed $291.6 million domestically and $548.6 million worldwide, huge numbers that make it destined to be a hit even against its $170 million budget. The only question now is how high it will go. The film is right about where Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness was at in its second weekend ($292.6 million) and will almost certainly outpace it by Monday. While Maverick will run into a dino-sized obstacle starting next weekend, it seems inconceivable that it won’t top $400 million domestically, making this a mega-hit for Paramount.

Speaking of Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness, it was down 42% in its fifth weekend with $9.3 million. The MCU film currently stands at an impressive $388.7 million domestically and $909.4 million worldwide and will continue pushing its way to a $400 million domestic total. The budget for this one was $200 million.

The Bob’s Burgers Movie took a dive in its second weekend, dropping 64% from the opening weekend take. The animated film brought in $4.5 million, a hefty slip from its starting weekend. There was always a chance that this one would behave like a franchise film due to the devoted fanbase, and that appears to be what happened. The movie is up to $22.2 million domestically and $23.9 million worldwide, with a likely $30 million domestic total in sight. No word on its budget.

The Bad Guys continues to hold well, as the Universal animated comedy was down just 24% to $3.3 million in its seventh weekend. That brings the film’s totals to $87.3 million domestically and $218.3 million worldwide, a big hit against a $69 million production budget plus marketing. It still looks to end its run at around $95 million or so.

Downton Abbey: A New Era stabilized a wee big after last weekend’s hefty fall, bringing in $3 million in its third weekend. That’s a drop of 48% from the previous frame and puts the film’s totals at $35.7 million domestically and $76.7 million worldwide against a $40 million budget. This one will finish significantly down from the first Downton Abbey movie’s $96.9 million domestically and $194.2 million but it should still be able to at least break even. The domestic total is targeting around $42 million.

Everything Everywhere All at Once remains unstoppable, as A24’s wild sci-fi action-comedy eased a mere 18% in its eleventh weekend. The Michelle Yeoh-starring movie grossed $2 million and has now grossed $60.6 million domestically and $78.1 million worldwide, now that more overseas markets have opened up. The film now likely to top $65 million by the end of its run and possibly even $70 million, making it a profitable venture for A24. The budget was $25 million.

Coming in at #7 was the Tamil-language action-thriller Vikram. The Indian-produced film brought in $1.8 million, making it the latest film from the country to notch a position in the top 10. Like most Indian films this should drop quickly as they cater to targeted markets so it will drop out of the top 10 very quickly, but American profits are always the icing on the cake for these films.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 was down 30% in its ninth weekend with $1.7 million. The Paramount film has now grossed $188.3 million domestically and $388.1 million worldwide, and is looking to close out at a $195 million stateside total. It’s a big hit against a budget of $90 million.

The Lost City slipped 34% in its eleventh weekend to bring in $1.4 million. The adventure romcom is now at $104 million domestically and $183.1 million worldwide, a success against its $68 million budget. It will close out around $110 million or so.

Finally, David Cronenberg continued his reputation of being a cult director as his latest entry, Crimes of the Future started fairly soft. The body horror-heavy sci-fi drama brought in $1.1 million after NEON released it in a mild 773 theaters. This isn’t surprising, as the studio didn’t give it a heavy marketing campaign despite a rapturous reaction at Cannes.

The reasoning here is simple: Cronenberg isn’t a mainstream filmmaker, and his movies don’t fit big-money niches. His highest opening is still 1986’s The Fly at $7 million, and only two others (The Dead Zone and Dead Ringers) have even started above $2 million. He churned out good grosses on his dramas Eastern Promises and A History of Violence, which were platformed up and were far more conventional of movies. This was never going to be a hit on those levels.

The good news is, it probably doesn’t have to be. We don’t know the budget here, but studios don’t make Cronenberg films for the theatrical gross. This is a film that will find its market on home viewing, It added a minor $318,000 overseas in limited release for $1.4 million worldwide, and probably won’t top $5 million (if that).

A couple other films registered of note outside the top 10. First off is Jurassic World: Dominion. While the film has not yet opened in the US (more on that shortly), it got off to a roaring start overseas with $55.4 million in just 15 markets. That’s a great start and bodes well for the film as it goes into worldwide release next weekend.

And finally, Sony Pictures learned that you don’t rely on memes to save a box office as Morbius bombed in its expansion. The Spider-Man Universe film has become quite the phenomenon on the internet, and the studio decided to expand its theater count back up to 1,037. The result was…honestly nothing, as the movie added just $300,000 for the lowest per-screen average in the top 15. The film has $73.6 million domestically and $163.6 million worldwide against a $75 million budget. Sorry folks, Morbin’ Time is over.

Top Gun: Maverick will cede the throne next weekend as Jurassic World Dominion becomes the new conqueror. The anticipated sequel is currently expected to gross in the $180 million range and perhaps more. It’s the only new release next weekend.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Top Gun: Maverick – $86 million ($291.6 million total, $548.6 million WW)
2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – $9.3 million ($388.7 million total, $909.4 million WW)
3. The Bob’s Burgers Movie – $4.5 million ($22.2 million total, $23.9 million WW)
4. The Bad Guys – $3.3 million ($87.3 million total, $218.3 million WW)
5. Downton Abbey: A New Era – $3 million ($35.7 million total, $76.7 million WW)
6. Everything Everywhere All At Once – $2 million ($60.5 million total, $78.1 million WW)
7. Vikram – $1.8 million ($1.8 million total, $1.8 million WW)
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – $1.7 million ($188.3 million total, $388.1 million WW)
9. The Lost City – $1.4 million ($104 million total, $183.2 million WW)
10. Crimes Of the Future – $1.1 million ($1.1 million total, $1.4 million WW)