<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $15 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $356.8 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Top Gun is a 1986 American action drama film, directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, in association with Paramount Pictures . The movie is the first installment of the Top Gun film series . The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an article titled "Top Guns" published in California magazine three years earlier . The film stars Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, and Tom Skerritt . Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise . He and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Edwards) are given the chance to train at the Navy's Fighter Weapons School at the former Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar in San Diego . </P> <P> Top Gun was released on May 16, 1986 . Upon its release, the film received generally mixed reviews from film critics but many particularly praised the action sequences, the effects, the aerial stunts, and the acting performances with Cruise and McGillis receiving the most praise . Four weeks after release, the number of theaters showing it increased by 45% . Despite its initial mixed critical reaction, the film was a huge commercial hit grossing $356 million against a production budget of only $15 million . The film maintained its popularity over the years and earned an IMAX 3D re-release in 2013 . Additionally, the film won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Take My Breath Away" performed by Berlin . </P>

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