Imperator Furiosa has faced ruthless kidnappers, raider attacks and maniacal warlords as she traverses a lawless wasteland. And yet her biggest opponent, at least today, seems to be a lazy cat who loves lasagna.
The exciting prequel “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” from Warner Bros. competes against Sony’s animated film “The Garfield Movie” to take the top spot on the box office charts over Memorial Day weekend. Each film has grossed about $25 million this weekend and an estimated $31 million through Monday. Both studios report that their own film is number 1. Whatever happens, it will be the worst Memorial Day opening weekend in nearly three decades.
For movie theaters, it’s another scintillating weekend at the summer box office — with recent would-be blockbusters ranging from fine (“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” with a $58 million debut) to disappointing (“The Fall Guy” with a $58 million debut $27 million; “IF” with a $33 million debut). So far, theaters haven’t had a movie to excite the moviegoing crowd — though June and July releases like “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Despicable Me 4” and “Inside Out 2” hope to change that narrative. Until then, total ticket sales are stubbornly 22% behind the same point last year and a worrying 41% behind 2019, according to Comscore. Box office comparisons to the same holiday weekend in 2023 are difficult — down nearly 36% — as Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” remake took the crown with $118 million.
“No matter how you look at it,” said senior Comscore analyst Paul Degarabedian, “this was not a vibrant holiday weekend for theaters.”
“Furiosa” collected another $33.3 million at the international box office, for a worldwide total of $58.9 million. Heading into the weekend, “Furiosa,” the fifth entry in director George Miller’s post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” series, looked set to rake in $40 million to $45 million domestically over the four-day holiday weekend — and even that wouldn’t have been the case. was a great start considering the film’s $168 million price tag. Now it will be hard-pressed to live up to its predecessor, 2015’s “Max Max: Fury Road,” which grossed $45 million in three days and went on to gross $380 million worldwide. Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron helmed “Fury Road,” which was released 26 years after the original “Max Max” and was hailed as one of the best action films of all time.
Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth star in “Furiosa,” which has yet to be released That level of praise, but has been widely embraced by critics and audiences. Analysts believe “Furiosa” missed the box office numbers because, despite the hype of “Fury Road,” the R-rated prequel lacked appeal beyond its core group of older male moviegoers. And in general, prequels are a harder sell because audiences generally know how those stories end.
Reviews aren’t the selling point of “The Garfield Movie,” which has a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences loved the animated film, narrated by Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson. It received a “B+” on CinemaScore, the same grade as “Furiosa.” And ‘The Garfield Movie’ cost a lot less, with a price tag of $60 million. It has already generated $66.3 million overseas, bringing its global total to $91.1 million.
“‘Garfield’ isn’t one of the animation elites, but it has a reasonable budget,” says David A. Gross of film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research. “It does what it’s supposed to do.”
This weekend’s other newcomer, Angel Studio’s faith-based biographical drama “Sight,” landed a thump into seventh place with $2.9 million from 2,100 theaters over the weekend and an estimated $3.6 million through Monday. Moviegoers raved about the film, which tells the story of a Chinese immigrant who moves to the United States and becomes a renowned eye surgeon; it earned an “A” CinemaScore. But these lackluster ticket sales indicate that not every Angel Studios release has the appeal of last summer’s sleeper hit, “Sound of Freedom.”
Elsewhere, Paramount’s “IF,” a fantasy comedy directed by John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds, fell to third place. The family film, which topped the box office last weekend, added $16.1 million between Friday and Sunday and an estimated $21 million through Monday, bringing its domestic totals to $63.5 million and $103 million worldwide. ‘IF’ cost $110 million to make and many millions more to market, so it’s counting on staying in power all summer to justify its budget.
In fourth place, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” collected $13.4 million this weekend and an estimated $17.1 million through Monday. To date, the fourth chapter in Disney and 20th Century’s ‘Apes’ reboot franchise has grossed $126 million domestically and $294 million worldwide after three weekends of release. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which cost $160 million, is chugging along, but needs a lot more momentum to rival its predecessors, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” ($481 million), “War for the Planet of the Apes’, to match. the Apes” ($490 million) and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (a best series $710 million).
Universal’s “The Fall Guy,” an action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, rounded out the top five with $5.9 million over the weekend and an estimated $7.6 million through Monday. After four weekends on the big screen, the $140 million-budgeted film is stalling with just $73.8 million in North America and $143 million worldwide.
More to come…
