Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Is a Major Streaming Success on Paramount+

by

Tom Cruise is widely considered one of the last major movie stars, and his latest action film, which earned $1.4 billion, proves why – it’s still incredibly popular on streaming services. While his Mission: Impossible series has concluded, the franchise isn’t over. And for fans of Top Gun, which debuted as a classic in the 1980s, there’s even more to look forward to, with a third film already in the works.

In 2022, Tom Cruise reprised his role as Maverick in Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel to the classic Top Gun. The film also featured Val Kilmer, along with Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Jennifer Connelly, and several other talented actors. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, known for his work on F1, the movie sees Maverick return to the Top Gun Academy, this time as an instructor. He’s tasked with training a new group of pilots for an incredibly risky mission – a dangerous bombing run that demands the skills of a top-level aviator.

Most legacy sequels don’t live up to expectations, but Top Gun: Maverick was a rare exception, proving well worth the nearly 40-year wait. Critics loved it – the film boasts a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – and our own Julian Roman called it a “spectacular sequel” starring a soaring Tom Cruise. Audiences agreed even more, giving it a 99% user score based on over 50,000 reviews. It’s no wonder Top Gun: Maverick remains popular on streaming services four years after its release. Currently, it’s the fourth most popular movie on Paramount+, and impressively, it’s been in the platform’s Top 10 for over a year and a half – 574 days, to be exact.

‘Top Gun 3’ Won’t Take as Long as ‘Maverick’ to Hit Our Screens

After the huge success of Top Gun: Maverick in theaters and on streaming, Paramount is already planning a third movie. Director Joseph Kosinski, who also recently made the hit F1 movie for Apple TV+, is confirmed to return. While F1’s production did briefly delay work on Top Gun 3, fans don’t need to worry about the project being canceled – it’s still moving forward.

Following the merger of Skydance and Paramount, Dana Goldberg, co-chair of the combined studio, reassured fans in August 2025 that a new Top Gun movie remains a key focus.

‘Top Gun 3’ Needs to Go Big or Go Home


Paramount Pictures

Tom Cruise is as captivating as ever in his role as Maverick, but what really made Top Gun: Maverick stand out was its incredible practical effects and real flight footage – the filmmakers used very little computer-generated imagery. Director Joseph Kosinski clearly prefers this hands-on approach, as seen in his film F1. If Top Gun 3 wants to be truly successful, it needs to prioritize those exciting, real-life action sequences. Luckily, Tom Cruise is always willing to take risks for the sake of entertaining audiences.

Read More

2026-03-15 20:02