Tom Cruise delights fans with first look at 'Top Gun: Maverick'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - “Top Gun” roared back on Thursday when Tom Cruise made a surprise appearance at Comic-Con to show the first trailer for the long-awaited sequel to his military action movie. “Top Gun: Maverick,” due for release in June 2020, sees the return of Cruise’s cocky fighter pilot more than 30 years after the original movie launched his career as a global action star. “I was always asked ‘When are you going to do another one?’ Well, you’ve been very patient with me. I felt like it was my responsibility to really deliver for you,” Cruise told fans gathered for the annual Comic-Con movie, television and comic book event in San Diego, according to entertainment website Deadline. The trailer shows Cruise wearing Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s famous leather jacket, racing on a motorcycle and flying a fighter jet through a narrow snow-filled canyon. The sequel picks up decades after the 1986 box-office hit and features actor Miles Teller as the son of Anthony Edwards’ pilot Goose, who is killed during a training exercise in the first movie. “Top Gun: Maverick” also stars Jon Hamm, Ed Harris and Val Kilmer, who reprises his rule as Maverick’s rival Iceman. Earlier, three films are essentially tied at the top of the weekend box office. Warner Bros. and New Line’s “It” appears to be back on top with $17.3 million from 3,917 locations. But Universal’s “American Made” and Fox’s “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” are trailing just behind with $17 million each. Since the numbers are so close, some studios are waiting until later in the day to make the official call. Meaning this one likely won’t be settled until Monday morning. What’s certain is that Sony’s remake of “Flatliners” is coming in below expectations. After getting killed by critics (0% on Rotten Tomatoes) the horror flick is opening to $6.7 million from 2,552 locations. “American Made” stars Tom Cruise as a commercial airline pilot who’s recruited by the CIA to fly reconnaissance missions over South America. A $17 million opening is modest for movie starring Cruise, but the studio is hoping for a long runway based on positive reviews and word of mouth. The movie has been earning money overseas for the past few weekends, giving it $64.7 million in international grosses so far. 55% of the domestic audience is male, and 56% is over the age of 30.