You’d think the incredible box-office success of Top Gun 2 was down to how great the action movie is, but according to Sony bosses, Venom 2 saved cinema first. The latest Tom Cruise movie has had audiences flocking back to theatres since its release, but it was the bravery of the Spider-Man villain movie that paved the way for this success apparently.
Tom Cruise returned to his fighter pilot to pick up where he left off in the ‘80s movie Top Gun, and the thriller movie has been widely regarded as one of the greatest cinematic experiences of recent years, especially since the pandemic began. The Venom sequel however, was met with tepid reviews upon its release in 2021, but it did make decent returns at the box-office.
According to Sony co-presidents Sanford Panitch and Josh Greenstein in a recent chat with Vulture, Top Gun’s team should send a little gratitude their way, as they believe their studio had a hand in priming audiences for watching epic blockbuster action on the big screen again.
“When we first started releasing movies last October, there were really no other big movies,” Greenstein said. “Everyone had pushed their big movies to this year, to this summer. We took a big gamble putting Venom in theatres.”
“There’s so much press about Top Gun right now. It’s like, ‘The movie business is back!'” Panitch added. “In a weird way, I would say Top Gun is benefitting from us taking our shot. Venom is the start of that story that allows Top Gun to do the kind of business it did. These things don’t happen overnight.”
Venom: Let There be Carnage raked in over $500 million worldwide after its release in October 2021. Top Gun 2 meanwhile has amassed a mammoth $1.2 billion so far in its theatrical run, and is the first Tom Cruise movie to gross over a billion.
Whether Venom played a part in Top Gun’s success is hard to say. It’s highly likely that any Tom Cruise picture is bound to get bums in seats, but fair play to Venom and the Sony team for taking that risk last year.