Top Gun: Maverick is not just the first time a Tom Cruise film brought in more than $100 million on opening weekend—it made nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, wildly surpassing expectations and records set by superhero blockbusters The Batman and most recently Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. These numbers are impressive on their own but in the context of empty theaters after two years of the pandemic, they are truly astonishing.