Top Gun: Maverick was one of this year's biggest success stories. The long-awaited sequel to the 1986 high-flying action film, which was delayed multiple times due to the pandemic, was eventually released in theaters and grossed $1.4 billion in global ticket sales. It ranks as the highest-grossing release of the year. But if you're someone who was holding out to watch it from the comfort of your home, the wait won't be much longer.
It was announced today that Top Gun: Maverick is clear for take-off and will be soaring onto Paramount+ on December 22. It will be available to stream n the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and other markets, the U.K. and Latin America.
Set 30 years after the original film, Top Gun: Maverick sees the return of Tom Cruise as United States Navy Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, now a test pilot after years of insubordination kept him from flag rank. Maverick is called into action to help train a team of hotshot ace students, including Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw — son of Maverick's late best friend Nick "Goose" Bradshaw — for a dangerous mission to destroy an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant. Plot aside, Top Gun: Maverick is a love letter to aviation, featuring some of the most amazing stunts and piloting sequences ever in a film.
Top Gun: Maverick was a commercial success, grossing $716.7 million domestically and another $770 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.487 billion. It is the highest-grossing film of Cruise's career.
It wasn't just a commercial success either — it was a hit with critics and fans alike. The film sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes with a near-perfect 99% audience score. The critical consensus reads: "Top Gun: Maverick pulls off a feat even trickier than a 4G inverted dive, delivering a long-belated sequel that surpasses its predecessor in wildly entertaining style."
In our own review of the movie, we called Top Gun: Maverick a "must-see cinematic experience... packed with jaw-dropping aerial sequences, thrilling edge-of-your-seat moments, genuine heart, epic romance, and one of the absolute best performances of Tom Cruise's legendary career."
The action sequences may not hit the same way in your living room as they did on the big screen of a theater, but Top Gun: Maverick is definitely a film worth watching again (or for the first time) when it arrives on Paramount+ next month.