‘Elvis’ Beats ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ At Domestic Box Office After Strong Debut

“Elvis” reigned supreme at the domestic box office just days after making its debut in the North American market, beating the worldwide hit “Top Gun: Maverick.”

It was a tight race between the biographical musical drama and the action-aviation flick. The two movies started duking out Friday, with “Elvis” landing the top spot and “Maverick” coming in a close second, Variety first reported.

Come Saturday, “Maverick” fans outnumbered the competition in the cinemas, enabling the film to claim the No. 1 spot that day. On Sunday, the two tied for first place at the domestic box office, with early estimates pegging their earnings to be close to $30.5 million.

But when the final results got tallied on Monday, “Elvis” beat the “Top Gun” sequel by a small margin. The former reportedly generated $31.1 million from 3,906 theaters for its debut weekend, while “Maverick” raked in $29.6 million from 3,948 cinemas.

Film finance sources exclusively told Deadline that aside from the $31.1 million stateside earnings, “Elvis” also brought in $51.1 million worldwide. This is an impressive feat for an adult-skewing drama that targets an older audience.

It is worth noting that Warner Bros. spent $85 million to produce the movie. The figure does not include the cost of marketing and distribution. But it’s inevitable for the film to turn a profit since it is set to play in cinemas throughout the summer.

The core demographic of the musical drama is also unlikely to rush out to watch it on the big screen during its opening weekend. So, more fans are expected to go see the film in the coming weeks, according to Variety.

Meanwhile, “Maverick’s” weekend gross just proved once again the wide appeal of the highly anticipated sequel that came 36 years after the original. Raking in $29.6 million in its fifth weekend showed the unprecedented staying power of the Tom Cruise-starrer at the box office.

It is rare for a movie to generate such ticket sales after being in theaters for more than a month. But “Top Gun 2” easily exceeded expectations since it has now officially joined the billion-dollar worldwide box office club.

The Joseph Kosinski-directed film reportedly secured an estimated domestic gross of $521.7 million and a $484.7 million overseas total, making it Cruise’s highest-grossing film in his career so far.