Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has found success in global IMAX theaters. A prequel to 2015’s dystopian chase film Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa tells the origin story of the character popularized by Charlize Theron in the previous installment. Anya Taylor-Joy steps in to play the young adult version of the titular character, with child actress Alyla Browne playing the role in her preteen years. In addition to Browne and Taylor-Joy, the leading cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Lachy Hulme, John Howard, Charlee Fraser, and Angus Samson.

As per Collider, Furiosa has found global box office success in IMAX theaters. At the time of writing, the film has grossed $18 million in IMAX theaters. This past weekend, it grossed $5 million in IMAX, contributing strongly to the $6 million total box office haul for IMAX overall this weekend. Of the $5 million gross, one third of the total came from 50 screens in Japan, showing the breadth of the international IMAX success.

Furiosa’s Tough Box Office Start Explained

Though Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has succeeded in IMAX, this is far from the full box office picture for the film. The prequel has an estimated budget of around $168 million, which is a hefty sum to try to make back. The film opened to just $26.3 million, a disappointing fall from Mad Max: Fury Road’s $45 million debut. Furiosa also set the unwelcome record of experiencing the largest second week dropoff of any film in the Mad Max franchise, at 59%. Furiosa has grossed $114.9 million globally, leaving it a long way to go to profit.

While it would be hard to follow-up Fury Road in both perception and performance, the reception of Furiosa makes its box office failure somewhat surprising. Furiosa is receiving positive reviews fairly across the board, with a 90% Tomatometer and an equally-high 90% audience approval rating. Those who are seeing the film seem to be loving its content, but the action movie has not as of yet been able to pull the kind of numbers to match that critical success.

The revelation of Furiosa’s IMAX totals put a somewhat hopeful spin on its otherwise-disappointing box office. Not only are the IMAX totals driving up Furiosa’s haul (comprising 15% of its overall sum), but they are also greatly stimulating IMAX itself worldwide. In a year where theatrical releases have struggled, this IMAX attention is important to get people back into theaters. Even if Furiosa continues to falter at the box office, continued IMAX success could mean greater staying power for the event film.

Source: Collider