Paramount Pictures’ Top Gun: Maverick is currently in its third week in theaters and is breaking the box office mark of the original 1986 Top Gun, which is considered a classic of modern cinema. Top Gun: Maverick has generated $557.2 million on global ticket sales — up 55% from the $357.4 million the original generated in its entire theatrical run.
It should be noted that adjusted for inflation the original Top Gun’s box office tally tops $941.9 million.
Regardless, a study conducted by AskGamblers compiled a list of movie sequels that exceeded, on paper anyway, the fiscal performance of the originals.
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight grossed almost $1 billion against the $359 million made by Batman Begins, a difference of almost $640 million. Heath Ledger’s performance as Joker (and untimely death) was among the factors of the movie’s fiscal success.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers earned $229 million more than The Fellowship of the Ring, just a year after the latter was released, as fans all around the world were eager to know more about Frodo’s adventures.
Blade Runner, released in 1982, the movie starring Harrison Ford didn’t do exceptionally at the box office, grossing almost $40 million regardless of the generally good reviews. The 2017 sequel, Blade Runner 2049, which added Ryan Gosling to its cast next to Ford, made $219 million more.
Other movie sequels outperforming the original include The Avengers (2012), which made $119 million more than 2015’s Age of Ultron, and the Harry Potter franchise, as Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone made $965 million, while Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets grossed $875 million.
| List of sequels that did better at the box office than their original counterpart | |||||||
| Original movie | Year | Worldwide gross ($) | Sequel | Year | Worldwide gross ($) | Difference ($) | |
| 1 | Batman Begins | 2005 | $358,858,124 | The Dark Knight | 2008 | $998,615,789 | $639.757.665 |
| 2 | Shrek | 2001 | $491,812,794 | Shrek 2 | 2004 | $935,253,978 | $443.441.184 |
| 3 | The Matrix | 1999 | $465,974,198 | The Matrix Reloaded | 2003 | $738,576,817 | $272.602.619 |
| 4 | Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 2001 | $891,216,824 | Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 2003 | $1,120,214,046 | $228,997,222 |
| 5 | Blade Runner | 1982 | $39,535,837 | Blade Runner 2049 | 2017 | $258,829,058 | $219,293,221 |
| 6 | Top Gun | 1986 | $357,469,522 | Top Gun: Maverick | 2022 | $557,200,000 | $199,730,478 |
| 7 | The Hunger Games | 2012 | $677,923,379 | Catching Fire | 2013 | $864,868,047 | $186,944,668 |
| 8 | Toy Story | 1995 | $365,270,951 | Toy Story 2 | 1999 | $511,258,276 | $145,987,325 |
| 9 | X-Men | 2000 | $296,872,367 | X-Men 2 | 2003 | $406,348,630 | $109,476,263 |
| 10 | Guardians of the Galaxy | 2014 | $770,882,395 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 | 2017 | $869,113,101 | $98,230,706 |