Top Gun: Maverick has overtaken Titanic to become the seventh highest-grossing movie ever at the US box office, earning $662 million in ticket sales.

According to Box Office Mojo's latest statistics, the Tom Cruise-led sequel has surpassed James Cameron's Titanic by more than $3 million to become the seventh biggest film of all time at the US box office. It is now positioned behind Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War, which currently ranks as the sixth highest grossing release in the US with $678 million.

The fighter jet flick has hit several major milestones since its release in May, becoming Tom Cruise's highest-grossing film of all time and Paramount's number one movie at the US box office ahead of Titanic. However, Titanic is still outpacing Maverick outside of North America with $1.5 billion at the international box office and a worldwide total of $2.2 billion.

Maverick has also earned more than $1 billion at the global box office and become the highest-grossing movie of 2022 at the worldwide box office ahead of both Jurassic World: Dominion and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It also became the first film to pass $1 billion since Spider-Man: No Way Home earned $1.9 billion in ticket sales last year.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Maverick takes place decades after the events of the first film. The highly-anticipated sequel sees the return of legendary pilot Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell as he gets drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

A large part of the film's success can be attributed to its action sequences. These scenes, some of which could only be filmed once due to the set blowing away, received high praise from critics and audiences. IGN's review of Maverick called it "an out-of-bounds blast of afterburner fumes and thrillseeker highs that's sure to please audiences looking for a classic summer blockbuster."

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Activision Blizzard has announced Call of Duty: Next, a livestream event that will include information on Call of Duty: Warzone 2, Modern Warfare 2, and Warzone on mobile. The showcase will air on September 15, and a public beta for Modern Warfare 2 will follow.

Announced on the Call of Duty blog, Activision Blizzard calls Next an "an era-defining franchise event showcasing the immediate future of Call of Duty." No specific timing has been announced at time of writing.

The event will include:

• Information on Modern Warfare 2
• Information on Call of Duty: Warzone 2
• Information on the mobile version of Call of Duty: Warzone
• A reveal of Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer
• Streamers playing the games live
• Unannounced information "and surprises"

The event will be followed by two sets of open betas for Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode. The first set, September 16-20 will be PlayStation exclusive, while the second (September 22-26) will take place across all platforms, with crossplay.

Early access will be offered to those with pre-orders for the game – you can get full details on how to access the beta on the Call of Duty blog.

After many, many rumours, we finally had it confirmed that Infinity Ward would be working on a sequel to 2019's reboot of the Modern Warfare sub-series. Arriving on October 28, we got our first look at the game as part of E3, including extended campaign gameplay.

An entirely new version of Call of Duty: Warzone was announced earlier this year. It will be developed by Infinity Ward, and will include an "all-new playspace and a new sandbox mode." It will also be developed on the new engine developed for Modern Warfare 2.

This could also be the last annual Call of Duty game, as it was reported that 2023's Call of Duty game will be released in 2024 and that the series may no longer be an annual franchise following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. However, reports also suggest that Activision Blizzard is committed to keeping the next three Call of Duty games multiplatform.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Arc System Works has announced the release date for Guilty Gear Strive Season Pass 2 alongside its first DLC character, Bridget. The Second Season and Bridget will be released on August 8.

At EVO, Arc System Works’ previously announced Season Pass 2 for Guilty Gear Strive begins with the launch of Bridget, the yo-yo’ing attacker. This is the character’s first playable appearance since Guilty Gear XX Core Plus R.

Alongside the playable new character, Bridget will come with two new battle stages and a second color pack. Arc System describes Bridget as an “easy to pick up” character with both long-range attacks and excellent movement.

Guilty Gear Strive Season Pass 2 will feature 4 new characters in total, so expect three more characters to be added in the future.

Guilty Gear Strive is the latest game in Arc System Works’ popular fighting game series and the studio recently announced that it has surpassed 1 million units worldwide. It is the first game in the Guilty Gear series to achieve this milestone.

To celebrate, Arc System Works has released a new original music video for Sol Badguy’s theme. Additionally, starting on August 8, Guilty Gear Strive’s standard edition will be available for a new lower price of $39.99.

If you haven’t checked out Guilty Gear Strive, IGN’s review praised the newest entry, and rightfully so given it’s one of the most stylish modern fighters currently out there.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Arc System Works creates some of the best fighting games in the business. From Dragon Ball FighterZ, to Guilty Gear Strive, to the recently released DNF Duel, there's no shortage of great fighting games coming from the studio.

However, beyond recognizable titles like Dragon Ball FighterZ, the studio's offerings are relatively niche when you travel outside of the hardcore fighting game audience, especially in the West. Arc System Works CEO Minoru Kidooka wants to change that.

At EVO 2022, IGN spoke with Kidooka, who said that in the past, Arc System Works had been very passive with regards to collaborating with other IPs, with IP holders being the ones coming to them with the offers for collaboration. Kidooka wants to change that attitude. Moving forward, Kidooka said the studio plans to be less passive in pursuing partnership opportunities. Specifically, Kidooka wants Arc System Works to create games that will resonate with western audiences. Whether that means licenses with global appeal like Dragon Ball or working with franchises that originated in the West remains to be seen.

"We need to expand fighting [game] communities through IP," Kidooka told IGN. "In the future, if we have such an opportunity, we are actively pushing to collaborate with new IP owners."

In the long run, Kidooka's dream is to develop a new Arc System Works IP planned and developed in the US.

Beyond Dragon Ball, Arc System Works has collaborated with a number of different IP owners in the past, working on games featuring Granblue, Persona, One Piece, and more. But the next step for the studio could be partnering with companies to create new fighting games featuring characters with great western appeal.

However, even with a widened focus on partnerships, Arc System Works isn't leaving its original franchises behind. Guilty Gear Strive is still early in its life cycle, and as for BlazBlue?

"I have a plan," said Kidooka. His first priority is expanding Guilty Gear Strive, but beyond that, he is also constantly thinking about the new generation of fighting games, and BlazBlue could be part of it. He also said that the BlazBlue IP has a lot of possiblities in genres other than fighting games as well.

For more fighting game news from EVO, check out SNK's announcement of a brand new Fatal Fury game, rollback netcode coming to Dragon Ball FighterZ, and PlayStation's EVO survey about NFTs.

On stage at EVO 2022, SNK announced that a new entry in the long-dormant Fatal Fury/Garou series is in development. It will be the first entry in the series since 1999's Garou: Mark of the Wolves. No release window or platforms were named, as the announcement was only paired with a short teaser trailer and a single piece of artwork.

Currently, SNK is only referring to the game as "New Fatal Fury/Garou", but it does appear to be a follow-up to Mark of the Wolves, as the teaser trailer ends with the reveal of Rock Howard, the protaganist of that title.

Legends never die...
After more than 20 years, FATAL FURY / GAROU is coming back!
Finally, the long awaited sequel has been green-lit!

>Check out the trailer here!https://t.co/LF4x1tgZBO#FatalFury #GAROU pic.twitter.com/yTlfcaFIXd

— SNK GLOBAL (@SNKPofficial) August 7, 2022

The short teaser trailer gives us three mysterious hints of what to expect in the game's story, including, "The City of Legend Still Breathes", "Hungry Wolves Back on the Prowl", and "A New Destiny Hidden In Darkness". Along with the reveal of Rock, two silhouettes were shown in the background during the trailer. These two characters appear to be Billy Kane, a recurring character throughout the series, and Kain R. Heinlein, the final boss of Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

Also known as the Garou series, the Fatal Fury franchise began in 1991 with the release of Fatal Fury: King of Fighters on the Neo Geo. The series continued on the Neo Geo through the 1990s, until Garou: Mark of the Wolves launched in late 1999. The series came to a halt after that entry, meaning this newly-announced title will be the franchise's first in over 20 years.

Even though the series has been dormant for over two decades, many of its characters have lived on through SNK's King of Fighters series, which combines characters from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, and more. Characters such as Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, and Joe Higashi are staples in the KOF series. Rock Howard, Geese Howard, and more have been added to KOF XV as DLC characters.

For more on what's happening at EVO, check out the big announcement of rollback netcode coming to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Or, read up on PlayStation's EVO survey about NFTs.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

While there appear to be plenty of differences between Game of Thrones and its upcoming prequel series, House of the Dragon, star Matt Smith says one thing that hasn't changed is the show's high number of sex scenes.

In an interview with Rolling Stone (via THR), Smith said the amount of sex scenes his character is involved in is "slightly too much, if you ask me.”

“You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’” Smith said. “And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’ I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we’re living in]?’ And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.”

HBO's original Game of Thrones series also garnered some criticism for its levels of nudity. Actress Gemma Whelan, who played Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones, called the show's sex scenes "a frenzied mess." And, Emilia Clarke has said that she won't do nudity again after Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, a story originally published in 2018. Smith will appear as Prince Daemon Targaryen, one of the main players in the conflict known as the Dance of Dragons. The story is a prequel to Game of Thrones, taking hundreds of years earlier.

In addition to a lot of sex scenes, House of the Dragon will also have a lot of, well, dragons. Nine different dragons will appear in Season One, and co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik said each dragon will have "its own personality."

House of the Dragon premieres on HBO and HBO Max on August 21. We also know the first season will have multiple time skips and that its redesigned Iron Throne includes 2,500 swords.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Dragon Ball FighterZ fans have finally gathered the seven Dragon Balls to make their wishes come true, as Bandai Namco announced that rollback netcode is coming to the popular fighting game.

Revealed after the Dragon Ball FighterZ Grand Finals at EVO 2022, Producer Tomoko Hiroki shared a message with fans saying that the long-awaited feature is finally coming Dragon Ball FighterZ.

A message to the DBFZ community from Hiroki-San at #Evo2022! pic.twitter.com/R79RemTHQ9

— Bandai Namco Esports (@BNEesports) August 7, 2022

Hiroki also confirmed that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of Dragon Ball FighterZ are in development. If you want to take advantage of the game's upcoming rollback netcode functionality, you'll need to play on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or PC.

Fortunately, Hiroki said Bandai Namco is planning a way for owners of the PS4 and Xbox One versions to upgrade to the current-gen release once it's available. There was no mention of rollback netcode support for the Nintendo Switch version of the game. No timetable for rollback netcode or the current-gen release was given.

Rollback netcode is a huge deal for a fighting game's online viability and longevity. If you're unfamiliar with the term, rollback netcode is designed to create a nearly lagless online experience for fighting game players. In games with delay-based netcode, players have to deal with a noticeable amount of input delay when playing online. In a fighting game, where every frame of gameplay matters, even the slightest delay can ruin a game's competitive online scene.

Rollback netcode is as close as online play can get to in-person competition, making virtual tournaments and events competively viable. The Dragon Ball FighterZ community has been asking for rollback netcode for years now. Earlier this year, Bandai Namco postponed the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Championship Finals due to COVID-19. While games with rollback netcode may have been able to transition events like this to the internet, Dragon Ball FighterZ fans just had to wait, as their online gameplay wasn't suited for a competitive tournament.

Beyond the big rollback netcode reveal, Hiroki said that there are no current plans to add more fighters or balance changes to the game, meaning Dragon Ball FighterZ is essentially content complete.

Dragon Ball FighterZ originally released in 2018 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A Switch version was later released. In our original review, we said, "Dragon Ball FighterZ is an inviting gateway into the world of fighting games for newcomers — whether you’re a Dragon Ball fan or not." The game also topped our list of the best anime to video game adaptations.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

It seems most high-profile actors are making their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now Giancarlo Esposito is hinting that he'd like to join the MCU.

In a TikTok posted by coundownsitygeeks, Esposito was shown taking the stage at the TJH Superhero Car Show & Comic Con in San Antonio, Texas. Responding to a fan question, Esposito said that while the internet would love to see him as an iconic villain like Magneto, or even Doctor Doom, he'd love to play Professor X.

"I have not worked for Marvel yet. I've been in the room with them and talked to them," Esposito said, "I'm gonna go for something that's a little bit different. I'm gonna go and put it out in the universe that [I'd like to play] Professor X."

Esposito is best known for his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. He has also appeared in The Boys and The Mandalorian. Video game fans will also recognize him in Far Cry 6, where he plays the main villain Anton Castillo. The actor is often cast as the bid bag, so a turn as Professor X would be a shakeup for him and for fans.

Charles Xavier is the founder and occasional leader of the X-Men in Marvel Comics. On the big screen, both Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy played the character in Fox's X-Men universe. Stewart briefly reprised the role in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, but that appearance is best described as no more than a cameo. So, we're still waiting for the MCU's version of Professor X to arrive.

Fans have been waiting for mutants to join the MCU ever since Disney's acquisition of Fox in 2019. While we haven't seen any X-Men show up outside of cameos, the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series did make a big reference toward the group of superhero mutants.

We know that the MCU's Phase 6 includes a Fantastic Four movie and two Avengers films, so it's possible that whatever comes after The Infinity Saga could be the big arrival party for the MCU's mutants. While fans wait for more info about X-Men in the MCU, they can look forward to the X-Men '97 series coming to Disney+ next year.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Earlier this week, French physicist Etienne Klein seemed to post a photo of Proxima Centauri, the closest known star to our own, located some 4.2 light years away. The photo was gorgeous and quickly amassed thousands of likes.

There was just one problem: the photo was actually just a bit of chorizo.

As translated by IGN, Klein originally posted the photo with the caption, "Closest photo of Proxima Centauri, the star that's closest to the sun, located 4.2 light years away from us. It was taken by the [James Webb Space Telescope]. This level of detail…a new world is revealed day after day."

Photo de Proxima du Centaure, l’étoile la plus proche du Soleil, située à 4,2 année-lumière de nous.
Elle a été prise par le JWST.
Ce niveau de détails… Un nouveau monde se dévoile jour après jour. pic.twitter.com/88UBbHDQ7Z

— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) July 31, 2022

It quickly emerged that the photo was fake; one scientist's practical joke.

"Well, when it’s time for the aperitif, cognitive biases seem to have a field day, so watch out for them," Klein tweeted. "According to the contemporary cosmology, no object belonging to Spanish charcuterie exists anywhere but on Earth."

He then warned against online misinformation.

"When seeing certain comments, I feel an obligation to specify the tweet showing an alleged snapshot of Proxima Centauri was a form of amusement. After this we have to beware of arguments from authority as much as the spontaneous eloquence of certain images."

If Klein wanted to draw attention to misinformation, then mission accomplished. The tweet was reported in several major publications worldwide and continues to circulate online.

Thankfully, there are plenty of actual photos from the James Webb Space Telescope, which was successfully deployed on January 24. The telescope's mission is to view objects too distance and faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. Its first image was tweeted by President Biden, and it has subsequently returned other images as well.

For lots more space coverage, learn about how the Earth recently set a new speed record as well as the growing Space Tourism industry.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Earlier this week, French physicist Etienne Klein seemed to post a photo of Proxima Centauri, the closest known star to our own, located some 4.2 light years away. The photo was gorgeous and quickly amassed thousands of likes.

There was just one problem: the photo was actually just a bit of chorizo.

As translated by IGN, Klein originally posted the photo with the caption, "Closest photo of Proxima Centauri, the star that's closest to the sun, located 4.2 light years away from us. It was taken by the [James Webb Space Telescope]. This level of detail…a new world is revealed day after day."

Photo de Proxima du Centaure, l’étoile la plus proche du Soleil, située à 4,2 année-lumière de nous.
Elle a été prise par le JWST.
Ce niveau de détails… Un nouveau monde se dévoile jour après jour. pic.twitter.com/88UBbHDQ7Z

— Etienne KLEIN (@EtienneKlein) July 31, 2022

It quickly emerged that the photo was fake; one scientist's practical joke.

"Well, when it’s time for the aperitif, cognitive biases seem to have a field day, so watch out for them," Klein tweeted. "According to the contemporary cosmology, no object belonging to Spanish charcuterie exists anywhere but on Earth."

He then warned against online misinformation.

"When seeing certain comments, I feel an obligation to specify the tweet showing an alleged snapshot of Proxima Centauri was a form of amusement. After this we have to beware of arguments from authority as much as the spontaneous eloquence of certain images."

If Klein wanted to draw attention to misinformation, then mission accomplished. The tweet was reported in several major publications worldwide and continues to circulate online.

Thankfully, there are plenty of actual photos from the James Webb Space Telescope, which was successfully deployed on January 24. The telescope's mission is to view objects too distance and faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. Its first image was tweeted by President Biden, and it has subsequently returned other images as well.

For lots more space coverage, learn about how the Earth recently set a new speed record as well as the growing Space Tourism industry.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.