Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga had a lackluster opening, which speaks to an underlying challenge the Mad Max series. The prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the new film follows the early days of Furiosa as she grew into the fierce driver and hero previously played by Charlize Theron. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the younger Furiosa and Chris Hemsworth as the wasteland warlord Dementus, Furiosa‘s expansion of the Mad Max world has been a critical darling. The film has an impressive 90% from Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, as well as solid audience scores, suggesting it could have longevity.

Unfortunately, this critical success didn’t do much to help solidify Furiosa‘s financial earnings. In fact, the film’s opening fell under expectations and contributed to one of the worst Memorial Day box offices in almost thirty years. There are more than a few reasons this could be the case, extending far beyond the reception of the film. The failings of Furiosa‘s opening weekend at the box office speak to a greater underlying situation currently afflicting the movie industry. Precedent also suggests that Furiosa could still become a financial hit despite these initial struggles, especially if it follows the trajectory of Fury Road.

Furiosa’s Opening Weekend Box Office Explained

Furiosa Is Struggling To Earn Back Its Budget

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga‘s weak opening box office is a reminder of the franchise’s inherent problems selling tickets, and speaks to a larger underlying problem occurring at theaters across the United States and the world at large. Despite earning rave reviews, Furiosa debuted to an unexpectedly low box office haul. The film was initially expected to earn around $40 million domestically, which is still a ways off from the film’s reported budget of $168 million. However, the film only earned $32 million in the United States over the Memorial Day weekend, contributing to a global total four-day box office total of $64.8 million.

Memorial Day weekend is considered a major starting point for the cinematic summer season, often resulting in massive ticket sales. By contrast, 2024’s Memorial Day weekend had the lowest box office since 1995’s Casper. According to Box Office Mojo, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the 37th most successful Memorial Day release in the US, followed directly by its primary competition, The Garfield Movie. The Memorial Day bust is particularly surprising given recent films like 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick and 2023’s The Little Mermaid both made over $100,000 at the box office in the same time frame.

The Mad Max Franchise Has Never Been A Huge Box Office Draw

Fury Road Also Suffered At The Box Office

One reason for this underperformance can be chalked up to the impact of the Mad Max movies as a whole. The five post-apocalyptic films, all of which were directed by series creator George Miller, have never exactly blown up the box office. While the initial trilogy was considered a box office success, this was in large part due to their relatively small budgets. The Mad Max series has never been a massive box office draw, instead garnering more appreciation and accolades after they left theaters. Furiosa could even be repeating the trajectory of the proceeding film in the series, Mad Max: Fury Road.

Despite being heralded as one of the finest action films of all time, Fury Road also suffered from surprisingly weak initial ticket sales. Mad Max: Fury Road grossed $45.4 million on its opening weekend in 2015, and actually lost to Pitch Perfect 2 at the box office. Although the film did recoup its budget and went on to earn over $380 million at the box office, The Hollywood Reporter estimated that between its budget, marketing, and eventual award campaign, Mad Max: Fury Road ultimately lost somewhere between $20 and $40 million dollars for its studio. So far, Furiosa seems to be on the same kind of path.

Why Furiosa Underperformed At The Box Office

Furiosa Isn’t The Only Blockbuster Failing At The Box Office

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga underperforming at the box office isn’t the most shocking turn of events, even outside the difficulties Mad Max typically faces at the box office. Given the historical precedent surrounding prequels and the current state of the film industry, it actually makes a lot of sense. Historically, prequels typically fail to reach the same financial heights as their predecessors. Films like Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, and The King’s Man all suffered when compared to their predecessors, with Solo failing to break even and The King’s Man openly considered a box office bomb.

Many other films have also been suffering at the box office in recent months, with seemingly surefire hits like The Fall Guy failing to draw in expected audiences. While the films may be critically acclaimed, the majority of potential viewers seem to be deciding to simply wait for the blockbusters to be available for home viewing, impacting their returns. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga may be the latest film to suffer from this situation, resulting in a box office that couldn’t even match the relatively disappointing debut of Fury Road almost a decade ago.

Why There’s Still Hope For Furiosa To Be A Financial Success

Furiosa Could Thrive In Coming Weeks & Years

Despite these initial problems, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga shouldn’t be written off quite yet. The film is a critical hit, and an impressive piece of action filmmaking on both a technical and artistic level. Strong word-of-mouth and other recent trends in the film industry imply the film could ultimately prove to be financially successful in the long run. As seen with the eventual success of films like Pixar’s Elemental in 2023, movies initially brushed off as box office bombs can prove to have longevity that makes up for their comparatively weaker openings.

With little direct competition at the box office until Bad Boys For Life on June 7th, Furiosa‘s strong word-of-mouth could result in a solid second weekend at the box office. The film could also follow Fury Road‘s trajectory and do incredibly well through Video-On-Demand or on home video. This could be the latest example of why success in the home market should be factored into the total revenue produced by a film, with the box office only playing a part in the overall success of a film. If these elements come into play, then Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga could still be a financial hit for Warner Bros.

Source: Box Office Mojo, The Hollywood Reporter