Jerry Bruckheimer credits Top Gun: Maverick with 'uniting' film fans

Jerry Bruckheimer believes 'Top Gun: Maverick' "united" film fans.

The 79-year-old producer worked on the long-awaited 'Top Gun' sequel and believes that it was so successful as it appealed to audiences regardless of background or worldview.

Speaking to JoBlo.com, Jerry said: "It was the first picture for an older audience that brought people back to theatres and in droves across the world.

"It set a record for streaming. It shows you can have good entertainment to watch in a theatre and go home and watch it and buy it. Sales of the DVD were through the roof.

"You can't tell how many people went to see the movie more than once. 'Maverick' captured the zeitgeist of the world. It's not red state or blue state. It united everyone around the world."

Jerry believes that the success of the film provided fresh hope for an industry that had suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: "I think the movie's success gave hope that other movies will draw people into theatres. 'Top Gun' made it safe. It's about movies that audiences had forgotten about during the lockdown."

Tom Cruise set up flying sequences for other cast members to make the movie as realistic as possible but Jerry was concerned about the dangers of the stunt work.

Jerry - who has produced films such as 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' – told Variety: "The biggest scare for me as a producer is all the aerial work we did, how dangerous it was.

"We had the best pilots in the world flying with our actors, but things happen, and you have to trust the expertise of the people we were working with. And, knock wood, we didn't have any problems."