The latest reboot of the “Mad Max” series didn’t do enough to draw moviegoers to theaters over Memorial Day weekend, sending the film industry back into a downturn after recording its lowest Memorial Day box office results in nearly three decades.
“Furiosa: The Mad Max Saga” had a surprisingly small box office haul despite a particularly exceptional four-day opening weekend, grossing just $26.3 million over the first three days and adding a few million more to its holiday opening total, finishing the long weekend with just $32 million. Box Office Mojo.
That’s just slightly more than “Garfield the Movie,” with one big difference: The lasagna-loving cat reportedly cost around $60 million to make, while “Furiosa” made between $168 million and $233 million. Screen Rant This could be a challenge, as the film reportedly needs to gross between $336 million and $466 million to be considered a success for Warner Bros.
This shocking, brave and powerful female-led film was the worst-performing Memorial Day box office number one film since 1995.Casper” opened at the top of the box office with just $16.8 million, as the post-apocalyptic adventure set in Australia and featuring a cartoon cat contributed to Hollywood’s worst Memorial Day weekend in 29 years.
By comparison, 2023’s “The Little Mermaid” didn’t fare much better, grossing $188 million over Memorial Day weekend, while 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” starring Tom Cruise, wowed audiences with a holiday opening of $160 million and a domestic haul of $700 million.
“Indeed, Memorial Day weekend has historically been a quiet one for movie theaters.”
The Memorial Day box office slump should send shivers down the spine of the entire movie industry. NBC News In 2024, the film has yet to achieve box office success: No film has made over $100 million in its opening weekend this year, and that burden will fall on the shoulders of upcoming sequels and reboots.
“Despicable Me” is one of the leading contenders, and a remake of the 1996 hit “Twister” returns in July as the aptly named “Twisters.” Disney’s “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool and Wolverine” are also highly anticipated sequels.
But reliance on sequels hasn’t worked, especially for a company like Disney, which has announced it will continue to push known storylines forward.
“Given the competition in the movie market overall, I think there’s a lot of value in sequels right now because they’re well-known and they don’t cost as much in terms of marketing,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a May 2024 earnings call.
Despite the Indiana Jones sequels and reboot, The Haunted Mansion and the poor performance of Marvel, Iger maintained that this was the company’s way forward, which of course included “more Avengers.”
“I think this is a team that I have a ton of confidence in, and the IP that we’re unearthing, including the sequels that we’re doing, is unparalleled, so I’m very excited about what’s to come,” the CEO added.
“Furiosa” appears to suffer from being too long and having too little content, but ComScore senior analyst Paul Dergarabedian simply noted that “it’s true, Memorial Day weekend has been a historically slow one for movie theaters.”
Hollywood hopes the upcoming sequels will “reset the industry and move forward in a positive direction,” Dergarabedian told NBC News.
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