AMC Entertainment has reported the new Top Gun film Maverick smashed all expectations over the weekend.
Tom Cruise’s update of the original Top Gun beat a 15-year record for best Memorial Day takings, said the cinema chain owner.
Numbers going to an AMC cinema over the weekend totalled 5.1mln and comprising 4mln in the US and 1.1mln overseas, which includes the Odeon chain in the UK.
That was double the previous year and out of those 3.3mln or two-thirds went to see Maverick, said AMC.
In revenue terms, the Tom Cruise film took US$282mln over the weekend comprising US$156mln in the US and US$126mln elsewhere, according to box office data sources.
Adam Aron ,chairman and CEO of AMC said, “Our sincerest congratulations to Tom Cruise and the entire creative and artistic team who have given us TOP GUN: MAVERICK.
“They have delivered a movie for the ages, and one that will be talked about with affection and even reverence for decades and decades to come.
“We also want to thank the more than 3.3 million people who have already seen TOP GUN: MAVERICK at our AMC and Odeon theatres in the US and abroad.
AMC also noted that 55% of the total domestic audience this year was 35 years or older, which it said was an indication that older Americans are also returning to movie theatres in significant numbers.
AMC's share price had risen by 37% since Maverick was released, though it eased lower today.
UK cinema owner Cineworld also dipped having a seen a healthy bump-up when Maverick was released here,
Cineworld shares were down 7% at 26.25p.