Top Gun: Maverickis now the No. 1 movie ofTom Cruise’s career.

The long-awaited sequel has now passed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, according toVariety. This is the first of Cruise’s films to reach the rare milestone, with his next-highest global earner being 2018’sMission: Impossible – Fallout, which made $791.1 million.

Per Box Office Mojo’stallies,Top Gun: Maverickis now among the top 50 movies of all time in terms of box office performance, not adjusted for inflation. The top 5 films on the list each earned more than $2 billion. The highest, 2009’sAvatar, made $2.8 billion — and it will add to that total when it’sre-released in theaters this Septemberin the lead up to the December sequel.

“To all the films in release, to all the studios, and to all the exhibitors: congratulations. To the audience: thank you for venturing out and allowing us to entertain you. See you at the movies,” Cruisewroteon Twitter Monday.

Top Gun: Maverickset a Memorial Day weekend box office record on its opening weekend last month. Celebrating the win, Cruise, 59, wrote on Twitter, “Thank you to everyone who saw#TopGun: Maverick and helped make it a historic opening weekend.”

Paramount Pictures

Top Gun: Maverick

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Prior to that, Cruise — who insisted the film’s theatrical release be postponed throughout the pandemic rather than it drop directly on streaming —tweeted, “36 years after the first film, #TopGun: Maverick is finally here. We made it for the big screen. And we made it for you, the fans. I hope you enjoy the ride this weekend.”

At theCannes Film Festivalthis year, the actor saidhe “never” considered doing a streamingrelease forTop Gun: Maverick. “That was never going to happen. Ever,” said Cruise of the sequel’s streaming-debut possibility. “I make movies for the big screen.”

Tom Cruise and Joseph Kosinski.Hector Vivas/Getty for Paramount Pictures

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - MAY 06: Tom Cruise and Joe Kosinski attend the Mexico Press Day of “Top Gun: Maverick” at The Ritz Carlton Hotel on May 06, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

Teller, 35, is among the actors cast as a new class of pilots, which includesGlen Powell,Greg Tarzan Davis, Jay Ellis, Monica Barbaro andLewis Pullman. Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm also star, and Val Kilmer reprises his role from the original.

In May, producer Jerry Bruckheimer toldDeadlineofTop Gun: Maverick’s success, “We make films for all audiences.Top Gunis for everybody; it’s all about the story and the characters and the ride we take them on. I don’t care where you see this movie. You see it with packed audiences; it’s playing all over the world. … Watching the movie over the last few nights with an audience, people are really happy walking out of the theater.”

Thenext movie for CruiseisMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, which hits theaters in July 2023.

source: people.com