Sony Has A Weird Theory Why Top Gun Is So Popular
The Sony executives want their credit, as they have provided quite an odd theory about what the reason is behind Top Gun: Maverick being so successful in theaters.
Top Gun: Maverick exploded onto movie screens, becoming the most successful film of 2022. Not just that, but the film exploded into becoming the most successful Tom Cruise-led feature ever both domestically and internationally. Now, Sony has offered a quite odd theory about why the film has been so popular. The co-presidents of Sony, Sanford Panitch and Josh Greenstein, say that Sony is one of the biggest reasons why Top Gun has managed to be so popular. According to Panitch, “In a weird way, I would say ‘Top Gun’ is benefitting from us taking our shot. ‘Venom’ is the start of that story that allows ‘Top Gun’ to do the kind of business it did. These things don’t happen overnight. It’s a seeding.”
To be fair, Panitch does have a point in that Venom: Let There Be Carnage was one of the first films to allow patrons back to the theaters in October of 2021. The film ballooned into a massive $506 million worldwide box office gross. While the first film was certainly more successful, Venom 2 still managed to rake in quite a deal of money considering the world was still in the thick of the pandemic. They also released Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Spider-Man: No Way Home shortly after that. Ghostbusters was not as successful, as the film only pulled in only $197 million, but we all know that Spider-Man: No Way Home took home a staggering $1.9 billion. That is the reason that Sony believes Top Gun was successful.
People have been lauding Top Gun 2 as the film that “reignited the box office.” As there hadn’t been many blockbuster films in the last two years, for obvious reasons. However, the Sony co-presidents believe that Venom 2 was the reason behind the resurgence of people wanting to return to the theaters. They claim that if they had not taken their shot during an uneasy time in the world, then Top Gun 2 might not have made as much noise as it has. To be honest, Top Gun 2 is just a great film. That is likely why it is making a ton of money.
Top Gun: Maverick did something that most sequel films never do. It took bits and pieces of the original film but made it feel fresh. There wasn’t a time in the film where it was leaning on overused jokes or characters that just didn’t quite gel with one another as they had before. Even Val Kilmer’s small role felt meaningful and right. That could be the nostalgia talking, but it was just written so well.
Top Gun: Maverick is currently in theaters right now, and fans can go see one of the best Tom Cruise films ever made. He was gifted an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance in the movie, which is certainly warranted. He was fantastic in it, as is the same for the rest of the cast. Cruise and Miles Teller have reportedly been talking about extending the story even further. We might not agree with that, but the current sequel is special. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was nowhere near as good a sequel. Sorry, Tom Hardy. However, the film did pull in a great deal of money during the pandemic, and that still matters. So, thanks Sony.
