'Top Gun: Maverick' had the biggest opening weekend in Paramount+ history

Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Top Gun: Maverick broke records for Paramount+ by becoming the most watched movie globally on its opening weekend in the history of the streaming platform. The film surpassed the prior record holder, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, by 60%.

Not only was Top Gun: Maverick the highest-grossing film of 2022, bringing in nearly $1.5 billion worldwide, but it was the highest grossing film of Tom Cruise's career. It is also one of the highest-grossing films since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The runaway success of this film across theatrical, digital and now in streaming is an undeniable proof point demonstrating the power of Paramount's multi-platform release strategy," Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins said in a statement. "Across all our 2022 titles, and now with Top Gun: Maverick, our studio has unlocked the value of variable windowing that streaming provides to augment a film's overall success," Robbins continued.

While Paramount+ lags far behind streaming services like Netflix, it is steadily gaining traction, with 46 million subscribers as of November. The addition of Top Gun Maverick to the Paramount+ library seems to have had compounding effects on Cruise's other films on the platform. Viewership of the original Top Gun has increased 400% on the platform, while viewership for the Mission Impossible franchise has increased by over 150%.

"Maverick did it again! #TopGun: Maverick is now the #1 Global Movie Premiere on #ParamountPlus EVER," Paramount+ tweeted in celebration if the film's success.