‘Mad Max’ has its worst Memorial Day box office performance in nearly 30 years

Furiosa: The Legend of Mad Max has had a disappointing start at the US box office, taking in $32m (£25m) over the long Memorial Day weekend.

The film earned $22.5 million (£17.6 million), the lowest holiday weekend since Casper debuted in 1995.

Furiosa only narrowly beat its nearest rival, The Garfield Movie, which took in $31.1m (£24.3m).

Weekend box office receipts in 2024 were significantly lower than in 2023, when Disney’s The Little Mermaid took in $118m (£92.4m).

The fifth film in the Mad Max franchise is a prequel starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth.

It tells the origin story of Emperor Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron in the 2015 Oscar-winning film Mad Max: Fury Road.

Set in Australia’s barren outback, this dystopian action film from George Miller explores the collapse of a post-apocalyptic society.

The show, which also stars Tom Burke and Alyla Browne, is set 20 years before Fury Road, and fans have watched Furiosa grow from a toddler to a warrior. the process of.

The film cost $168m (£131m) to make and is expected to take around $40m (£31m) at the US box office over the four-day weekend.

At the international box office, Furiosa took in $33.3m (£26m) from 75 territories over the weekend, bringing its global total to $58.9m (£46.1m)

The previous film in the series, 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, grossed $65m (£51m) at the box office on release.

“Furiosa” premiered after the Cannes Film Festival to a six-minute standing ovation, but received mixed reviews from critics, ranging from “soul-piercingly raw” to “all spectacle, nothing.” Vision”.

Other recent movies that have struggled at the box office include the action comedy “The Fallout,” which did poorly on its opening weekend.

The film, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, was expected to gross $40m but actually made less than $28m (£21.9m).

John Krasinski’s animated family films “IF” and “War for the Planet of the Apes” also had lower-than-expected opening weekends at the box office.