The weekend box office seems to be facing some challenges despite the availability of more movies in the market. Moviegoers are still hesitant to return to theaters, resulting in a lackluster response to new releases. The two movies released this weekend, a prequel/spinoff featuring a new actress to a beloved cult movie and a family movie about a comic-strip cat, are not expected to create a major buzz. Therefore, it is unlikely that we will see the same $200M+ four-day weekend earnings that have been seen in the past Memorial Day frames.
Warner Bros' release, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” earned $3.5M at 3,400 locations during its previews, which began at 3 PM. This prequel to “Mad Max Fury Road” aims to achieve similar success as its predecessor, which had a strong opening weekend of $45.4M back in 2015. With Queen's Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy taking over the lead role from Charlize Theron, “Furiosa” is expected to bring in $40M over the four-day weekend. The movie has received positive reviews from critics, with an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an impressive 96% rating from audiences. The strong exit scores from PostTrak indicate favorable word of mouth, especially among male viewers who gave it an 87% score. This positive reception may help the film sustain box office momentum throughout the weekend.
On the other hand, Alcon/Sony's “The Garfield Movie” opened with $1.9M from shows starting at 2 PM across 3,243 locations. While the previews performed slightly better than expected, the movie is projected to earn over $30M during the four-day weekend. However, critical reception has not been as favorable, with a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite this, general audiences, parents, and kids under 12 have given the film high ratings, showing that it has potential to attract family audiences. Female viewers outnumbered male viewers for “The Garfield Movie,” with a distribution of 55% to 45%. The film received positive exit scores from viewers, with a 3 1/2 star rating from general audiences and 4 1/2 stars from parents and children. This positive response from audiences may help drive the film's box office performance over the weekend.
In the broader context of the box office, Paramount's “IF” has accumulated $42.5M in its first week, which is 8% behind the last PG live-action title, “Hop,” which earned $46.4M in its first week. While “IF” is hoping to minimize its second-week drop to -50% after opening at $33.7M, “Hop” saw a smaller decline of -43%. The comparison between these two films highlights the challenges faced by recent releases in sustaining box office momentum beyond their opening weekends. Despite positive responses from audiences, the competition in the market and audience hesitancy towards returning to theaters pose challenges for movies aiming for box office success.
The weekend box office reflects the current landscape of the film industry, where new releases face challenges in attracting audiences back to theaters. While some movies like “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and “The Garfield Movie” have received positive responses from audiences, the overall box office performance remains uncertain. The impact of the strikes, audience preferences, and market competition all play a role in shaping the box office outcomes for these films. As the film industry continues to navigate these challenges, it will be interesting to see how upcoming releases adapt to the changing dynamics of the market.