Still flying high at the global Box Office and widely regarded as one of the best Hollywood sequels in living memory, it may surprise you to learn that Top Gun: Maverick will be landing for home audiences sooner than you think.
While the Tom Cruise movie's daring, highly realistic aerobatic stunts were impressive enough, perhaps Maverick's most incredible move was to pull off the double 'golden Goose' of being a hit with both critics and audiences.
A sequel to the 1986 classic, the film deftly pulled at the heart strings of the older viewer but was also fresh and exhilarating enough to appeal to today's younger generation, with many believing it to be better than the original.
The story concerns Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, one of the Navy's top aviators sent to train a detachment of young and thrusting graduates for a special assignment.
With its potent cocktail of nostalgia and visceral thrills, it's no wonder the movie attracted a stunning 8.6 on IMDb, and a staggering 99 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
So with all this popcorn-munching and good times still very much (barrel) rolling along at cinemas, it seems unlikely you will be able to watch this much talked-about movie at home any time soon, right?
Wrong.
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Get ready for landing
Top Gun: Maverick is likely to continue on the big screen until the end of this month (July), by which point its parent studio Paramount Pictures will decide who will get to stream it.
But one thing we do know for certain is that Maverick will be winging its way to video-on-demand platforms on August 23 - where it will be available to buy from Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play and assorted other lesser-known services.
As for cost, it’s likely to be around £4.49 to rent and £13.99 to buy across all platforms.
Techradar says this post-theatrical release schedule would keep in line with Paramount stablemate, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The cute blue hedgehog sequel was available to buy and rent on-demand around three months after its release in cinemas.
The return of the much-loved Sega mascot is also getting a physical release (DVD and Blu-ray) at the beginning of next month (August), which makes it four months after its theatrical release.
With this in mind, it seems likely that Top Gun: Maverick would follow suit, with you being able to get your hands on a physical copy sometime between September and October.
We have lift-off ... but only when Tom says so
Top Gun: Maverick belongs to Paramount Picture s, so the studio will doubtless make sure its platform Paramount Plus streams it exclusively.
As to exactly when this will happen is unclear, but if we use Sonic The Hedgehog 2 as a reference again, that hit Paramount Plus the same day it appeared on Video On Demand – three months after its theatrical debut.
However, Top Gun: Maverick was such a monster box office smash this may not follow suit.
Interestingly, as part of a unique movie deal, Tom Cruise actually has the final say when the film will soar onto Paramount Plus.
There are rumours that the studio is leaning on Cruise to shorten the film’s 120-day exclusivity window in an effort to milk the film’s popularity even further.
But this also means Cruise may resist and lobby to have the movie play longer at the cinema.
After all, it’s well-documented how much the Hollywood A-lister champions seeing films on the big screen.
After launching in June this year, Paramount Plus is now available in more regions than ever, and costs £6.99 a month.
