Paramount Pictures' "Top Gun: Maverick" and Warner Bros.' "Elvis" achieved a rare feat this weekend by tying for first place at the domestic box office — for now, at least.
In its opening weekend, "Elvis" amassed $30.5 million, while "Top Gun" collected the same amount in its fifth weekend for a North American cumulative of $521.7 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore that will be finalized on Monday.
"A box office tie is a rare occurrence and particularly when there is a battle for the top spot there is intense interest in the results given the importance of claiming a number one victory," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, in a statement.
"For both films this is a big deal, a number one debut for Elvis is obviously a big win and for Maverick, jumping back into the top spot in weekend 5 is no small feat."
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, "Elvis" stars Austin Butler as the titular King of Rock 'n' Roll and Tom Hanks as his manager, Col. Tom Parker. The highly anticipated biopic scored a 78% fresh rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an A-minus from audiences polled by CinemaScore.
Also new to theaters this weekend was Universal Pictures' "The Black Phone," which landed in fourth place at the domestic box office with $23.4 million. Helmed by Scott Derrickson, the latest Blumhouse horror flick stars Ethan Hawke as a masked serial killer who abducts and murders children.
"The Black Phone" received an 84% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ from Cinemascore audiences.
"Top Gun: Maverick" surpassed $1 billion at the global box office this weekend after racking up a total of $484.7 million internationally. The patriotic action movie, directed by Joesph Kosinski, recently became the highest-grossing domestic release of Tom Cruise's career.
Rounding out the top five domestically this weekend are Universal Pictures' "Jurassic World Dominion," which added $26.4 million in its third weekend for a North American cumulative of $302.7 million, and Disney's "Lightyear," which made $17.7 million in its second weekend for a North American cumulative of $88.8 million.
Opening in wide release next weekend are Bleecker Street Media's "Mr. Malcolm's List" and Universal Pictures' "Minions: The Rise of Gru."
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