Summary

Furiosa barely surpassed
The Garfield Movie
in Memorial Day box office totals, earning $32 million domestically.
Both films had alarmingly low box office numbers, with
Furiosa
having a long way to go to recoup its $168 million budget.
Despite the low domestic sales, both films are faring better internationally, giving hope for recouping their budgets.

Furiosa’s box office just barely beats The Garfield Movie in a record-low Memorial Day weekend. This past weekend saw the release of a number of high-profile films for the holiday weekend. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the much-anticipated prequel to George Miller’s 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. The Garfield Movie is the latest animated feature version of the popular late ‘70s and ‘80s comic Garfield, starring Chris Pratt as the titular lasagna-loving feline.

As per Variety, the Memorial Day weekend box office scores reveal Furiosa just barely beating Garfield. Including the Monday holiday, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will have taken in an estimated $32 million domestically, broken down into $26.2 million for the weekend and $32 million total. The Garfield Movie placed lower than Furiosa, making $24 million over the weekend and an estimated $31.1 million including the holiday.

Unpacking The Dismal Memorial Day Weekend Box Office

For the two biggest films releasing this weekend, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie’s box office totals are alarmingly low. The Mad Max film was made on a budget of $168 million, giving it a long way to go to make back this hefty sum. Additionally, it is following up the high-profile, Oscar-nominated Mad Max: Fury Road, giving the film high expectations. The Garfield Movie, on the other hand, was made for an estimated $60 million, making it more likely to earn back its total.

For domestic sales, this past weekend represents one of the lowest-grossing overall holiday weekends in years. In fact, the box office was at its lowest for a holiday weekend since 1995’s Casper opening weekend, excluding pandemic years. Other major films also had slow weekends, including Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which had a 47.5% drop, taking home $13.3 million for the weekend and $17.1 million holiday-inclusive. As the summer blockbuster season fast approaches, this box office seems like a harbinger of doom for theatrical releases.

Domestic Box Office Worldwide Box Office RT Critics Score RT Audience Score Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga $32 million* $58.8 million* 90% 90% The Garfield Movie $31.1 million $98.1 million 38% 83%

*These represent estimates as of 5/27/24, and are subject to change, as both films are still in theaters

Luckily, this is far from the end of the road for Furiosa and The Garfield Movie. Despite The Garfield Movie’s dismal reviews, the film is doing fairly well internationally, making $98.1 million worldwide thus far. Looking at this overall total makes Garfield’s chances of making back its budget all the more likely. Furiosa is at an estimated $58.8 million worldwide, which while still not enough, puts it a little under halfway towards its budget. Whether these films cross the profit threshold remains to be seen, but neither should lose hope yet.

Source: Variety

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be. Director George Miller Release Date May 24, 2024 Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Writers George Miller , Nick Lathouris Runtime 148 minutes Expand The Garfield Movie Based on Jim Davis’s comic series, Garfield is a new imagining of the lasagna-loving cat and his friends, opting for a fully computer-animated approach. Chris Pratt voices the titular cat, with the film aiming to explore his early days and new misadventures for him, his friends, and his family.Director Mark Dindal Release Date May 24, 2024 Studio(s) Columbia Pictures , Alcon Entertainment , DNEG Animation , Amuse Entertainment , Paws, Inc. Distributor(s) Sony Pictures Releasing Writers David Reynolds Runtime 101 minutes Expand