Box office: at the top of the ranking ahead of Garfield, Furiosa does not avoid failure

Everything was there: an ambitious blockbuster, the sequel to a cult franchise, a star cast, a long weekend… And yet, Furiosa: a Mad Max saga failed to attract the public for its release in American theaters, and achieved a score significantly below analysts’ expectations.

The worst Memorial Day of the 21st century

If he can console himself with his first place, Furiosa nonetheless remains the king of a desolate kingdom. Expected around 40-45 million dollars for its launch, the prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road raised only $25.5 million in three days, with an estimate of $31 million including the Monday holiday of Memorial Day, which honors fallen United States soldiers.

It’s certainly enough to be in front Garfield: hero in spite of himselfbut far from the expectations of Warner Bros., which undoubtedly hoped to establish its new franchise Mad Max. You have to go back to 1981 to find a Memorial Day box office this low, accounting for inflation. At the time, the film Bustin’ Loose with Richard Pryor finished first in the ranking with only $6.6 million.

To compare, Furiosa is even far behind Fury Road, which had already failed to attract crowds when it was released in 2015, with a first weekend of 45.4 million. The film with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron will end up totaling 380 million worldwide and gaining cult status over the years, but without being a financial success.

With a substantial budget of 168 million, Furiosa: a Mad Max saga therefore seems doomed not to recover his stake, and it is not his world accumulation that will be able to save him. George Miller’s film totaled a small 58.8 million worldwide for its launch, far from Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom (129 million), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (192 million) or even Dune: part two (82 million).

Just like the failures of Star Wars: Singleplayer And Blade Runner 2049that of Furiosa raises the question of the relevance of certain sequences. Is the public demanding franchises at all costs? Furthermore, spectators seem to reserve their cinema outings for more event-oriented films, as shown by the weak starts of The Fall Guy And Blue & Company. In a word: places in the sun are increasingly rare for blockbusters, and both the show and the proposition must be worth the trip.

In second place, Garfield: hero in spite of himself is not far behind, with $24.7 million in three days. It is even possible that he passes in front Furiosa once the final figures are revealed.

The animated film with the voice of Chris Pratt may be (a little) happier with its start, in particular because it cost significantly less (60 million). It has already earned 98.1 million greenbacks worldwide and can hope to continue, while no big release of a family film is planned for a few weeks.

In the rest of the ranking, Blue & Company is in third place with 16.1 million. Despite its original screenplay and its star-studded vocal cast, John Krasinski’s film with Ryan Reynolds struggled to reach the symbolic mark of 100 million worldwide. A failure.

For his part, Planet of the Apes: The New Kingdom reached 300 million worldwide (including 126 in the United States), helped by positive reviews. The feature film directed by Wes Ball can hope to end its career around $400 million, which is not too bad for a little-awaited sequel without a known actor.

US box office May 24-26, 2024 (estimates excluding Memorial Day)