411 Box Office Report: Furiosa Disappoints, Squeaks Past Garfield For #1

It was a letdown of a weekend atop the box office, as Furiosa opened low and barely passed The Garfield Movie for the top spot. The Mad Max: Fury Road prequel opened with $25.8 million through Sunday and an estimated $31 million for the four-day frame. That’s well below the $40 million to $45 million that was expected for the four-day take, marking a tough start for an expensive blockbuster.

Warner Bros. can’t be pleased about this result; after all, Furiosa had a pretty solid buzz carrying it into the weekend. It’s part of an iconic franchise and the critical buzz was great with an 89% aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes. And word of mouth has been very good with a B+ CinemaScore and a 91% RT audience rating (on par with Fury Road’s B+ and 86% RT audience score).

So what went wrong here? A lot of gloom and doom about the box office has been written about, but the more relevant answer is two-fold. First off, the Mad Max franchise has never appealed as a four-quadrant film the way that the biggest blockbusters have. That proved true with Furiosa, which brought in a younger audience heavily skewed to men. The second half if the answer is that Warner Bros.’ marketing let the film down, as it wasn’t able to cut through the overall noise the way a film of its size typically does.

Furiosa isn’t doing wonderful overseas, either. It brought in $33.3 million internationally for a $64.3 million worldwide take through Sunday, which gives it a steep mountain to climb considering its $168 million budget. The film should have good legs in the next few weeks, but its domestic upside looks to be around $90 million to $100 million at the best which, unless the overseas numbers pick up big time, won’t be enough to bring it to profit, especially factoring in marketing costs.

Meanwhile, The Garfield Movie is in better shape despite opening slightly lower. The CG-animated adaptation of the comic strip grossed $24.8 million through Sunday and is expected to reach $30.9 million through Monday. That is below the expected $35 million to $40 million four-day take that was projected.

The family film came into the weekend with considerably less positive buzz than Furiosa, with critic reviews at a lowly 38% aggregate score on RT. However, it is being well-received among moviegoers with a B+ CinemaScore and an 83% RT audience rating. And what’s more, Garfield doesn’t have Furiosa steep budget, having cost “just” $60 million. This is no Kung Fu Panda 4, but its still looking to be in good shape.

The Garfield Movie also has decent overseas numbers, having opened a couple of weeks ago in several markets. As of now it has totaled $66.3 million outside of the US for a $98.2 million worldwide take through Monday. The flick won’t have direct competition until Inside Out 2 arrives in mid-June and should be able to make it to $100 million or so, more than enough for what Sony Pictures wanted.

The arrival of Garfield did take a bit of a bit out of IF, which slipped 52% to $16.1 million through Sunday and $21 million through Monday. It’s a decent enough hold for a film that did underperform a bit last weekend, bringing its totals to $63.4 million

There’s still a lot of question as to whether IF will reach a profit while in theaters right now. It currently sits at $63.6 million domestically and $103.6 million worldwide against a $110 million budget so it isn’t impossible, but it has to continue holding on well. As of now it should still be able to cross $100 million and the overseas grosses will determine its final theatrical fate.

Kingdom Of Planet of the Apes was down 48% in its third weekend to total $13.4 million over three days, and around $16.9 million through Monday. The 20th Century Studios film is heading for hit status with $126.5 million stateside and $298.5 million worldwide against a $160 million budget. It still looks on course for over $150 in the US.

The Fall Guy showed resilience in its fourth weekend as it slipped just 29% to $5.9 million over three days and $7.5 million over four. That’s a great hold, especially for those who predicted doom for a film that hit digital on Tuesday. The action romcom is now at $73.9 million domestically and $145.5 million worldwide, and while it won’t be profitable in theaters against its $125 million budget it should be able to hit around $90 million domestically.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 had a decent hold for the genre, as it was down 53% in its second weekend to $5.6 million through Sunday and $7 million through Monday. That brings the first part of Renny Harlin’s remake trilogy to $22.7 million domestically and $24 million worldwide. Considering the mild reception of the film, this is a bit of a relief to Lionsgate as it is looking to make a solid profit against its $8 million budget with at a probably $35 million domestic total. The remaining two parts of the trilogy are already in the can and releasing later this year.

Angel Studios had a bit of a dud in Sight, which struggled to find traction at a $2.7 million three-day take and a projected $3.6 million through Monday. That’s a far cry from the studio’s previous faith-based films like March’s Cabrini (a $7.2 million start), last December’s The Shift ($4.3 million) and March 2023’s His Only Son ($5.5 million), to say nothing of The Sound of Freedom’s $19.7 million opening.

What’s the issue here? A complete lack of awareness, mostly. Angel Studios didn’t do much to market this biographical drama and it showed. While Sight was moderately well received, most people – even the crowd that comes out for faith-based movies – didn’t know it existed. We’ll see if they come out now that they’re marginally more aware, but this one is unlikely to get above $8 million. No word on its budget, but it isn’t likely to have cost much so Angel isn’t taking a major loss here.

Challengers finally slipped, as it dropped 52% to $1.4 million over three days and $1.7 million through four. That’s not a major concern for Amazon MGM at this point as the drama has grossed $46.8 million domestically and $81.9 million worldwide with digital revenue now coming in. It should still finish out with around $50 million, with the continuing overseas numbers pushing it to theatrical profit.

NEON’s latest film came in light at #9 in the comedy Babes, which brought in $1.1 million through Sunday and $1.3 million in four days. The comedy flew in way under the radar, but NEON is looking to make its profit here once it hits digital. The film has very strong critical reviews at 92% and okay word of mouth (a 76% RT audience rating), with a domestic total of $1.5 million after a very limited release last frame. It should be off the top 10 fairly quickly; no word on its budget.

The Amy Winehouse biopic Back in Black closed out the top 10 with a $1.1 million three-day weekend and $1.2 million four-day take. The music biopic is only at $5.2 million domestically, but $43.9 million worldwide against a $20 million budget. It should end its US run with around $8 million.

Next week will see a rematch between Furiosa and Garfield, with the latter film expected to win the weekend.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Four-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – $31 million ($31 million total, $64.3 million WW)
2. The Garfield Movie – $30.9 million ($30.9 million total, $98.2 million WW)
3. IF – $21 million ($63.6 million total, $103.6 million WW)
4. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – $17.1 million ($126.5 million total, $298.5 million WW)
5. The Fall Guy – $7.6 million ($73.9 million total, $145.5 million WW)
6. The Strangers: Chapter 1 – $7 million ($22.7 million total, $24 million WW)
7. Sight – $3.6 million ($3.6 million total, $3.6 million WW)
8. Challengers – $1.7 million ($46.8 million total, $81.9 million WW)
9. Babes – $1.3 million ($1.5 million total, $1.5 million WW)
10. Back to Black – $1.3 million ($5.2 million total, $43.9 million WW)