Memorial Day weekend is typically one of celebration with plenty of backyard barbeques and sports to enjoy, helping to kick off another Summer. One place where there wasn't as much of a celebration, though, was at the box office as Furiosa leads the weekend in what is projected to be the lowest holiday weekend opening in nearly 30 years.
George Miller's return to the Wasteland kicked off its theatrical run with $3.5 million at Thursday night previews, nearly matching the $3.7 million Mad Max: Fury Road earned from its previews in 2015. However, traffic appeared to slow down significantly from there for the post-apocalyptic action film as its opening weekend haul was reportedly sitting around $25 million heading into Sunday.
Additionally, Furiosa may not be able to secure the number one spot depending on how the weekend plays out for the weekend's other big release, The Garfield Movie.
The Chris Pratt-led animated feature has also reportedly made around $25 million ahead of Sunday, putting it in a proverbial shootout with Furiosa for the weekend's number one spot. Both films are projected to end the four-day weekend with around $31 million, which is well below Furiosa's original projected opening of $40 to $45 million.
Regardless of which film takes the top spot, it will have been the lowest-earning film to open at number one since 1995's live action Casper and not counting the COVID-19 pandemic years, according to The Wrap.
The disappointing returns has also generated some concern for Furiosa and if it will struggle to make back its reported $168 million budget during its theatrical run. Largely positive reviews and good word of mouth could help sustain it the same way Mad Max: Fury Road was able to in 2015, but the general belief is Furiosa has a harder uphill battle after the disappointing opening weekend.
Concerns are not as high for The Garfield Movie, which was significantly cheaper at around a $60 million budget and is expected to make that back.
Rounding Out the List
While Garfield and Furiosa vie for the top spot, the Ryan Reynolds-led family film If settled in at the number three spot and is estimated to end the holiday weekend with $21 million for its second weekend in theaters. The film's worldwide total sits at around $98 million against a reported budget of $110 million, though it will need to make more to be considered a success due to the unreported, but significant, marketing budget.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes came in at the number four spot, which is projected to make around $17 million at the domestic box office by the end of business on Monday. Globally, the film has made around $294 million off the back of a stronger opening weekend than expected for the latest film in the Apes franchise.
Rounding out the top five is The Fall Guy with $5.9 million earned heading into Sunday and bringing its reported worldwide total to around $143.8 million. The Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt-led action comedy has largely been considered a box office disappointment, despite receiving largely positive reviews ahead of its release.
Furiosa is in theaters.
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