Furiosa Tops Weak Weekend

Industry now counts on June, July releases
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 26, 2024 2:00 PM CDT
Furiosa , Garfield Top Weak Weekend
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Tom Burke, left, and Anya Taylor-Joy in a scene from "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga."   (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Movie theaters are looking more and more like a wasteland this summer. Neither Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga nor The Garfield Movie could save Memorial Day weekend, which is cruising toward a two-decade low. Furiosa, the Mad Max prequel starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, claimed first place for the Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend with $25.6 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Warner Bros. is waiting until Monday to release its four-day estimates. The animated and family-friendly Garfield was the other big new offering, from Sony's Columbia Pictures and Alcon Entertainment. The film is claiming No. 1 for the four-day holiday weekend with an estimated $31.9 million in ticket sales through Memorial Day. Sony estimates its three-day earnings to be $24.8 million, the AP reports.

Aside from Memorial Day 2020, when theaters were closed due to COVID-19, these are the lowest-earning No. 1 movies in 29 years. "A few things didn't happen that created this situation: We didn't have a tailwind heading into the summer. We kicked off the summer minus a Marvel movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "In a way, we've been playing catch-up all year long." The lack of a recent runaway hit puts more pressure on upcoming films to make up the slack. Still on the way are potential blockbusters like A Quiet Place: Day One (June 27), Despicable Me 4 (July 3), Twisters (July 19), Inside Out 2 (June 14) and Deadpool & Wolverine (July 26).

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

  1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, $25.6 million.
  2. The Garfield Movie, $24.8 million.
  3. IF, $16.1 million.
  4. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, $13.4 million.
  5. The Fall Guy, $5.9 million.
  6. The Strangers: Chapter 1, $5.6 million.
  7. Sight, $2.7 million.
  8. Challengers, $1.4 million.
  9. Babes, $1.1 million.
  10. Back to Black, $1.1 million.
(More box office stories.)

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