On this day in 1986, Paramount Pictures released the action drama film “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis alongside Anythony Edwards, Val Kilmer and Tom Skerritt. It opened in 1,028 theaters—showed in a total of 1,531—and was the highest grossing film of the year with $176,781,728.
Inspired by a Ehud Yonay article by the same name from a May 1983 issue of California magazine, the film details the life of US Navy fighter pilots and just last year was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry courtesy of the Library of Congress. Its soundtrack spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart featuring the hit tunes “Take My Breath Away” (US #1) by Berlin and “Danger Zone” (US #2) by Kenny Loggins, and is also 9x Platinum certified.
*Directed by Tony Scott and written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr.; Rated PG, runs 110 minutes