The US weekend Memorial Day box office charts featured a variety of the latest Hollywood films, with George Miller reviving a prequel scenario to his multi-Oscar-winning film Mad Max: Fury Road, and Chris Pratt attempting to make another iconic animated character from our childhood his own.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Miller’s latest directorial venture, which travels across the harsh landscape of the desert, is in a head-to-head battle with The Garfield Movie. While the former grossed $10.2 million from 3,804 theaters on Friday, Garfield earned $8.4 million from 4,035 locations. The cumulative weekend score is already touching estimates for the lowest Memorial Day weekend gross ever ($31 million to $33 million over a four-day extension). It is believed to be in line with Casper’s $22.5 million opening in 1995, nearly three decades ago.
In addition to Furiosa and Garfield earning similar grosses, they also each earned a B+ CinemaScore.
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The Mad Max saga prequel Furiosa stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the younger version of Charlize Theron’s personality from the original film. Contrary to recently revealed figures, the film was initially expected to gross $40-$45 million during the four-day Memorial Day weekend. Moreover, the film will also fall behind the previous film in the franchise, as Fury Road opened with a dusty $45.4 million three-day box office collection.
Other movies and their weekend box office estimate statistics
John Krasinski’s multi-starrer IF is at number three, with an estimated Memorial Day weekend gross of $20.7 million from 4,068 theaters. Despite competing with Garfield as a family package, it still holds its position strongly.
On the other side of the planet, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is playing in 3,550 locations. It remains in fourth place with its estimated four-day collection earning $15.5-$16 million for Disney and 20th Century.
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The Fall Guy’s projected three-day figures fell 32%, a much less alarming drop despite it now being available on digital. Claiming the 5th spot on the chart, the film that brought together the best aspects of the Oppenheimer confrontation is estimated to earn $7.3 million from 2,955 theaters over a four-day weekend performance.
Notably, theater-going hasn’t been this hot since last year’s strike ended. Cinema mania hasn’t fully returned yet, but with Marvel and Disney agreeing to clash and drop major F-bombs, all hopes are pinned on the theatrical premieres of Deadpool and Wolverine on July 26, which will hopefully draw in crowds of fans across all fandoms.
