‘Furiosa’ Beats ‘Garfield’ in Worst Memorial Day Weekend

Garfield has another reason to hate Mondays.

In a box office thriller, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” narrowly emerged victorious over “The Garfield Movie” on the North American charts. Sunday, Warner Bros. and Sony both claimed their own No. 1-ranked film with about $25 million over the weekend and about $31 million over the Memorial Day holiday Monday.

According to Monday’s estimates, “Furiosa” ended up grossing $26.2 million for the weekend and $32 million for the four days. “Garfield” was surprisingly close behind with $24 million over the weekend and $31.1 million over the four days.

Regardless of the final order, this is the worst Memorial Day weekend in nearly three decades — excluding 2020, when movie theaters were closed entirely because of COVID. Box office comparisons to the same holiday weekend in 2023 are particularly tough — down nearly 36% — given that Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” remake took the crown with $118 million , one of the best starts to the holidays. Overall, this Memorial Day period adds to Hollywood’s summer woes, as ticket sales remain 22% behind 2023 and 41% behind 2019, according to Comscore.

It’s a particularly disappointing showing for “Furiosa,” the fifth installment in director George Miller’s post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” series. The R-rated film, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, was expected to gross between $40 million and $45 million over the holiday season. And even that wouldn’t have been a stellar debut given the film’s $168 million price tag. Worldwide, “Furiosa” earned $65 million. At this rate, it will struggle to live up to the franchise’s previous installment, 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, which opened to $45 million (not for a week). -end of vacation) and ultimately brought in a modest amount. 380 million dollars worldwide. Despite excellent reviews, analysts say “Furiosa” failed because prequels rarely do as well as direct sequels, especially when they lack the original stars. And this action epic failed to expand beyond its core demographic of older male moviegoers.

For “Garfield,” which cost $60 million, it’s a good start for a family film while still coming in at the low end of the $30 million to $35 million projection range. The film has already grossed $66.3 million overseas and $91.1 million worldwide, so it is well-positioned in its theatrical release. Chris Pratt plays the titular cat who hates Mondays and loves lasagna in “The Garfield Movie,” financed and produced by Alcon Entertainment.