After over three decades of anticipation and a slew of overwhelmingly positive reviews, is it any wonder Top Gun: Maverick is already breaking records?

The Tom Cruise-led sequel to 1986’s Top Gun soared to incredible heights in its preview phase. Following a special early-launch fan event Tuesday and Thursday night previews, the film raked in a total of $19.3 million.

If that sounds like a lot of preview money, it is. In fact, it’s the highest-grossing preview ever in the history of Paramount Pictures. Plus, the highest-grossing preview for a film opening Memorial Day weekend. (Oh, and it’s the best preview for a Cruise movie as well. Mission: Impossible who?)

Top Gun: Maverick beats out Paramount Pictures’ previous biggest preview box office, $16M for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It also breaks the record for biggest Memorial Day weekend preview, previously held by Solo: A Star Wars Story at $14.1M.

According to Deadline, early box office projections anticipate Top Gun: Maverick will pull between $80-100M over Memorial Day weekend. To break the ultimate record as the biggest Memorial Day weekend film debut, it would need to top $139.8M. That record belongs to 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.   

Box office predictions are always a bit of a toss-up, but if any movie could top Pirates, I’d bet on Maverick. It’s exactly the kind of blockbuster people want to check out on a holiday weekend. And according to Rotten Tomatoes, it’s overwhelmingly liked by both audiences and critics alike. (At the time of writing, Top Gun: Maverick holds a 97% Certified Fresh critic score, and a 99% audience score.)

So, will you help Top Gun’s box office numbers soar this weekend? Let us know in the comments below if you’re headed to theaters to see Maverick fly again.

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Top Gun: Maverick – The Pinnacle Of Blockbuster Films [Review]