Top Gun is a classic film revolving around young naval aviator Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise) aboard the aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, who gets the opportunity to train alongside his partner Goose at the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School in California. When Top Gun hit the box office in 1986, it quickly rose to the top of the charts, drawing a great deal of attention to the film and the cast.The film became an instant classic thanks to the award-winning soundtrack and some of the best aerial scenes to ever hit the big screen.

Since the release of Top Gun: Maverick, per IndieWire, there has been much buzz comparing the sequel to its predecessor. Despite being released 36 years after the first Top Gun, grossing over $1 billion and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2022, Maverick has been met with almost exclusively positive praise, with fans of the original enjoying the sequel just as much. So much so that the film is gaining Oscar buzz, with Maverick producing calling for Cruise's Best Actor win, and CBR suggesting the film could dominate across multiple categories. With all this new attention on the new Top Gun film, this leaves us wondering exactly how successful Top Gun was in 1986.

Top Gun's Critical Reception in 1986

Meg Ryan in Top Gun
Paramount Pictures

At the time of its release, Top Gun was met with mixed reviews from critics. Despite its groundbreaking aerial footage, many critics found that the film fell flat in the narrative. Many critics even admitted that Top Gun was very difficult to review as its good moments were award-winning, but its bad moments were exceedingly difficult to watch. Director Oliver Stone was especially critical of the film, saying that Top Gun provides a misleading optimistic view of war altogether. While many film buffs take critical responses into account, average viewers prefer to judge a film for themselves rather than simply listening to the input of critics, leading to a whole different response from everyday viewers.

Related: Val Kilmer Says There Was a 'Special Bond' Between Top Gun Stars

Box Office Performance in 1986

Top Gun Goose
Paramount Pictures

Despite its critical status, Top Gun's box office performance was astounding. After it hit theaters, Top Gun's screenings increased by 45%, proving the interest in and the overall love of the film received from the beginning. Top Gun quickly rose to the top of the box office, earning the title as the highest-grossing film of 1986 after grossing a total of $8.2 million. Considering its low budget, not only was this performance good news for the studio, but it countered the mixed reviews that critics initially gave the film, showing that critics and audiences don't always agree.

Related: Paramount Pictures Moves to Dismiss Top Gun: Maverick Copyright Lawsuit

Top Gun's Legacy

Top Gun
Paramount Pictures

Top Gun's popularity has made it an iconic film that received an IMAX re-release in 2013, which saw a great deal of success from long-time fans, while bringing in new audiences to enjoy the classic film. In 2015, Top Gun was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry finding it culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. Top Gun also brought a great deal of attention to the Navy, which led to an increase in recruitment of Naval Aviators. Noticing this increase, the Navy set up recruitment booths in theaters to draw attention to the Navy. The film's staggering popularity even led to the making of a comedy spoof called Hot Shots! starring Charlie Sheen and Cary Elwes.

Top Gun: Maverick

Tom Cruise in Top Gun Maverick
Paramount Pictures

Some would argue that the popularity of Top Gun in 1986 is what led to the production of the newly released sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Maverick began development back in 2010, but stalled due to disputes over the screenplay, the soundtrack, and the director, as original director Tony Scott died suddenly in 2012. After production wrapped in 2019, the initial release was stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While many streaming services tried to buy the rights to the film, Cruise refused to let that happen, wishing the film to be released exclusively in theaters. The film has outperformed its predecessor both in the box-office and critically, grossing $1 billion so far.