Box Office Results: Furiosa and Garfield are No Power Couple

comingsoon.net:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga claimed the top spot over Garfield during Memorial Weekend, with the George Miller-directed action prequel grossing $26.3 million over the 3-day holiday ($32M 4-day) compared to the $24M/$31.1M earned by the fat cat, per Deadline. As many trades have already pointed out, this marks the lowest Memorial Day weekend opening for a film in some time, maybe even since 1995’s Casper ($22M).

According to the trade, Garfield is actually winning the race. The Chris Pratt-led animated flick sells more tickets than Furiosa, but at a cheaper price, $11.87 to $13.73. Ouch. Furiosa collected another $32M internationally, raising its global tally to $64.8M, while Garfield collected $66M for a $97M debut.

Everyone has spent the weekend determining what went wrong with Miller’s follow-up to his acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road. Some point to sequel fatigue, noting that nobody (except for nerds like me) asked for a prequel to Fury Road, which only grossed $369M in May 2015. Deadline indicates that female-led action pictures outside the superhero brand, namely 2018’s Tomb Raider ($23.6M 3-day) and 2019’s Alita ($28.5M 3-day, $37.2M 4-day), rarely produce astronomical ticket sales. Others claim moviegoing is no longer what it once was due to the numerous choices available on TV; people are simply more picky about what they see in theaters. Plus, why leave your couch to pay astronomical ticket prices when you can wait a few weeks to watch a movie like Furiosa at home?

Either way, Hollywood’s curtains aren’t falling, but these are troubling times. Remember, 2023 produced two billion-dollar hits in Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie and nearly a third with Oppenheimer. So far, 2024 has yielded Dune: Part Two ($711.8M), Godzilla x Kong ($566M), and Kung Fu Panda ($539M). With any luck, Bad Boys 4: Ride or Die, Pixar’s Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, Twisters, and Deadpool & Wolverine will exceed expectations and help this summer save face.

Is moviegoing dead? Not