“Top Gun: Maverick”
Lawsuit for lack of rights
Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.
© 2022 Paramount Pictures
This lawsuit is about a lot of money: Allegedly, “Top Gun: Maverick” was released without valid rights.
The new aviator action “Top Gun: Maverick” starring Tom Cruise (59) is a complete success at the box office. The blockbuster from the film production company Paramount Pictures was apparently released without valid rights. At least that’s what a lawsuit filed Monday claims which is available to the US broadcaster CNN.
The predecessor “Top Gun – They fear neither death nor devil” from the year 1986 was based according to the industry magazine “The Hollywood Reporter” on a 1983 article by Ehud Yonay entitled “Top Guns” in California magazine. The author’s heirs now claim that US copyright law makes it possible to withdraw the rights to a work after a period of 35 years.
Will “Top Gun: Maverick” no longer be shown in cinemas?
Paramount acquired the license in 1983, but the Yonays said they regained the rights to the story as of January 2020. The studio knew it no longer owned the license for the source material for Top Gun, but released the new action flick anyway. Now, among other things, the question arises as to whether the filming was largely completed when the rights were still with Paramount – and whether the license is even necessary to tell the new story.
Noisy “Variety” is demanding compensation from the family and that “Top Gun: Maverick” will no longer be shown. “These allegations are unfounded and we will vigorously defend ourselves,” Paramount said in a statement. According to the industry magazine Cruise’s box office hit has already brought in more than 550 million US dollars internationally, the equivalent of around 515 million euros. In North America alone, almost 295 million dollars, around 276 million euros, have been taken.