Box Office Meltdown: ‘Furiosa’ or ‘Garfield Movie’ to Win Memorial Day With Worst No. 1 Opening in 31 Years
The bad news doesn’t end there: overall revenue for the four-day holiday could hit a 25-year low.
BY PAMELA MCCLINTOCK, May 25, 2024.
Based on Friday numbers, George Miller‘s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga or The Garfield Movie may only open to $31 million to $33 million from 4,035 theaters over the four-day holiday, the worst Memorial Day No. 1 opener since Sylvester Stallone’s Cliffhanger debuted to $20.5 million 31 years ago in 1993 (and that’s not adjusted for inflation). This stat excludes 2020, when theaters were closed during the pandemic.
The two films are in a closer-than-expected race, but most rival studios expect Warner Bros. to take the top spot with Furiosa ahead of Sony and Alcon’s Garfield movie. Neither film aced it with audiences, with each receiving a B+ CinemaScore. Furiosa grossed $10.2 million on Friday from 3,804 theaters, versus $8.4 million for Garfield from 4,035 locations. That’s a small gap considering the latter is a family film.
With no holdovers to contribute in a massive way to the Memorial Day picnic, overall revenue may only clock in at only $125 million, the lowest showing in two decades. That excludes 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic was still raging, though Paramount’s A Quiet Place sequel was able to open to $57.1 million over the holiday in 2021.
Furiosa, a prequel that sees Anya Taylor-Joy play a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character in the last film, had been expected to open to $40 million to $45 million for the four-day holiday but instead is the latest summer event pic to underperform in its launch (an exception is The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes). Mad Max: Fury Road started of with a three-day gross of $45.4 million.
Elsewhere, Angel Studios continues to try to emulate the stunning success of last summer’s Sound of Freedom, but so far hasn’t come close to doing so. This weekend, it is opening the faith-adjacent film Sight, which may only gross $4 million from 2,100 cinemas for the four days for a seventh-place finish.
Back in the top five, IF is holding firmly at No. 3 in its sophomore outing with an estimated four-day gross of $20.7 from 4,068 locations. The family pic’s estimated three-day gross of $16 million is down 53 percent, a decent hold considering it is competing with Garfield for families. That’s needed good news for Paramount, director John Krasinski and star Ryan Reynolds after a soft opening.
