Coveted by streaming platforms, Top Gun : Maverick is a big playing card for Paramount and Tom Cruise, who prefer the big screen.
Among the great latecomers of the streaming war, the Paramount studio will finally enter the dance with Paramount + on March 4, 2021 (at least, it’s just CBS All Access which is renamed in real life). In the meantime, the year 2020 and the global pandemic have prompted the major to sell some of its productions to other SVoD services,A Prince in New York 2 (Amazon Prime Video) at Chicago Sept (Netflix).
However, Paramount has not shown itself ready to part with the entirety of its recent catalog, especially given his privileged link with one of the last great Hollywood stars: Tom Cruise. Indeed, the actor-producer allowed the studio to shape two of the most anticipated blockbusters of 2021, namely Top Gun : Maverick (postponed to 2020 and now planned for the pivotal July 4 weekend in the United States) and the seventh installment of Mission : Impossible (scheduled for November 17 in France).
When you think back to your last movie screening …
Thirty-five years after Tony Scott’s original film, the sequel to Top Gun has become an interesting bet for the studio, especially when one thinks of the cult acquired by the matrix opus. And obviously, Paramount was not mistaken since some platforms would have appreciated distributing such a project. According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix and Apple have proposed a repurchase of the feature film, declined by the studio.
This is not the first time that the streaming giants pull out the checkbook for such acquisitions. After all, if Netflix is well aware of its significant weight in the ultra-saturated SVoD market, the brand has always sought to enhance its catalog with promising intellectual properties. So, To die can wait, the last James Bond, and even Godzilla vs. Kong were the result of negotiations, before MGM and Warner retracted to favor the movie theater (and HBO Max in the case of the kaijus duel).
Nevertheless, Paramount’s estimates for the box office of Maverick have shown great promise, and the studio would not even have considered the proposal of Netflix and Apple TV +. In addition, the major has always been able to take advantage of the prestige of Tom Cruise, and his madness of the big show designed for the big screen.
“I feel the need, the need for the big screen”
While Mission : Impossible – Fallout was the biggest success of the saga, the actor has clearly imposed a unique imprint on the current cinematic landscape, if only through the crazy promises of suicidal stunts. Since its first trailer, Top Gun : Maverick relied its marketing on the impressive flight sessions performed by Cruise himself, and captured by Joseph Kosinski’s cameras (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion). An experience that we obviously want to enjoy on a giant screen.
Suffice to say that the star has seen a hell of a weight on his shoulders, especially during this complicated period for the Hollywood industry and blockbusters. As a reminder, Cruise was talked about on the set of Mission : Impossible 7, after being recorded violently arguing with technicians who did not respect sanitary rules. The tension is visibly at its height, especially since some executive producers have explained that Top Gun : Maverick and its release in early July would be a pivot to auscultate the state of the box office.
Until we can get our hands on this sequel July 13 in French theaters (if all goes well), we have concocted a very nice file on the whole saga Mission : Impossible, from worst to best.
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