“Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick” return to movie theaters in Hawaiʻi this month as part of a celebration of the original film’s 40th anniversary. The movies will be on big screens at four locations of Consolidated Theatres between Wednesday, May 13, and Thursday, May 21.
The original “Top Gun” movie, released in 1986, stars Tom Cruise in one of the roles that launched him to stardom. “Top Gun: Maverick,” released in 2022, also features Cruise. The films are playing at the Consolidated Theatres at Kapolei, Mililani, Ward and Pearlridge.
“This year marks the 40th anniversary of ʻTop Gun,’ ” Adrienne Ishizu Arguelles, Consolidated Theatres food and beverage manager, told Aloha State Daily. “It's a film franchise. It's a cultural phenomenon, and it's very nostalgic for a lot of people.”
The original movie follows the story of hotshot fighter pilot Maverick, who is played by Cruise, as he trains at the Navy’s elite Top Gun flight school. The second film, “Top Gun: Maverick,” has Maverick return to train a group of recent Top Gun graduates, including the son of his deceased best friend.
Watching the movie at home or on a phone “just doesn’t do it justice,” Arguelles said.
The original film had action, adventure and friendship, she said.
“And then when we had the newer Blockbuster come out — with Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Glen Powell — it became a franchise," she said. "It was able to capture a lot of the newer generations that didn't really get to watch the original ʻTop Gun’ in the movie theater.”
Active service members, veterans, and their families receive a special $10 ticket price. On Tuesdays, Consolidated Theatres also offers a Mahalo Tuesday special, where movie goers can get 50% off tickets and daily concession deals.
The return of the movies to theaters includes some themed merchandise, such as specialty popcorn buckets in the shape of fighter pilot helmets.
“We do have limited time ʻTop Gun’ movie merchandise that goes along with it,” she said. “There are fighter pilot helmets for Maverick and Goose, the two main guys in the film.”
Get tickets to “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
