‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ Fails To Rev Up Audiences, Posts Worst Memorial Day Box Office In Over 40 Years
Poor reviews? A lack of extracurricular funds due to a crumbling economy? An exhaustion with female protagonists? A cultural knowledge that most films will be available to stream for free just two weeks after their premiere? Whatever the reason, audiences have not turned out for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
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The latest entry in George Miller’s post-apocalyptic franchise, Furiosa was heralded by numerous outlets ahead of its release as the spark that would ignite the summer box office, with opening projections ranging from $30+ Million (as reported by Deadline per their insider Hollywood sources) to $100+ Million (as claimed by TheWrap based on discussions with their own sources within film analytics firm Gower Street Analytics).
Unfortunately for Miller and production studio Warner Bros. Discovery, these financial hopes would end up being absolutely crushed under the spiked tires of reality.
Opening to previews on May 23rd, per box office analytics outlet The-Numbers, Furiosa pulled in just $3,500 across 3,400 theaters in its first near-full day in theaters (many theaters begin ‘preview screenings’ as early as 3PM in the afternoon).
From there failing to pick up any momentum, Furiosa proceeded to close out its official May 24th release date with an exceptionally disappointing opening night take of $10,350,000 across 3,804 theaters.
Across the next two days, the film would then post diminishing returns over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, its subsequent sales totals amounting to $8.335 million, $7.615 million, and $5.7 million – respectively, with Monday’s low representing a 25% decline in viewership since its proper opening.
At the end of its run, Furiosa crossed the finished line with a final four-day total of barely $32 million.
For comparison, its main competition, the family-friendly, Chris Pratt-led Garfield, pulled in behind it with $31.1 million – though it did manage to take First Place overall on Memorial Day thanks to a holiday draw of $7.1 Million.
And while this performance didn’t earn the prequel film a spot on the winner’s podium, it did result in its taking home of another accolade: ‘The Worst Performing Memorial Day Blockbuster In 43 Years’.
Adjusted for inflation, not a single Memorial Day box office leader has posted number worse than Furiosa since 1981 when the Richard Pyror comedy Bustin Loose took the top spot with an adjusted $26.486 Million ($6.622 Million actual).
In further adding to Furiosa‘s racing troubles, the film barely performed any better at the international box office, pulling in a meager $32.5 Million (albeit without the advantage of a national holiday to boost the numbers) across the same time frame, thus bringing its weekend box office to a worldwide total of $64,548 Million.
Given the film’s reported budget of $168 Million, the film will need a massive boost from those territories where it has yet to be released – including Greece, Japan, and most importantly China – in order to even have a hope of breaking even.
At the end of the day, what effect Furiosa‘s failure will have on the future of the franchise – not to mention Hollywood overall – remains to be seen.
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