Global Box Office: ‘Furiosa’ Falters With $58 Million, ‘The Garfield Movie’ Nears $100 Million

The international box office sees a rocky start for ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,’ which pulled in $33.3 million from 75 countries. The fifth instalment in George Miller’s post-apocalyptic series has amassed $58.9 million globally in its opening weekend, a challenging start given its hefty $168 million production budget.

Domestically, Warner Bros.’ prequel ‘Furiosa’ is neck-and-neck with Sony’s animated ‘The Garfield Movie’ for the top spot, with both films earning around $25 million over the weekend and projected to reach $31 million by Memorial Day on Monday. Regardless of which film takes the No. 1 spot, this weekend ranks as one of the weakest Memorial Day weekends in decades.

Also Read: ‘The Garfield Movie’ Review: The Cat’s Back, But Is It Purrfect?

Struggling to Match ‘Fury Road’, ‘Furiosa’ is struggling to meet the high bar set by its predecessor, 2015’s ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ which grossed $380 million against a similar budget. Although the R-rated prequel, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, has been well-received by critics and audiences, it hasn’t achieved the same acclaim as ‘Fury Road,’ limiting its appeal primarily to older male viewers.

Outside of North America, ‘Furiosa’ performed best in Korea with $4.5 million, followed by France with $2.6 million, the United Kingdom with $2.5 million, Mexico with $2.4 million, and Australia with $2.2 million. Imax screenings contributed $9.5 million to the global box office, with $4.7 million coming from international markets.

Meanwhile, ‘The Garfield Movie’ is progressing strongly internationally, accumulating $91.1 million to date. Voiced by Chris Pratt, the animated film about the iconic orange cat who despises Mondays costs significantly less to produce than ‘Furiosa,’ with a budget of $60 million. It ranked third on international weekend charts, earning $14 million from 51 overseas markets.

Major markets like Japan, France, and Australia have yet to debut the film. Thus far, the top markets for ‘Garfield’ are Mexico with $17.4 million and Germany with $5.2 million.

Disney and 20th Century’s ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ secured second place internationally, bringing in $20.6 million from 52 markets. In North America, it added $17.1 million over the four-day weekend, totaling $172 million internationally and $294.8 million globally. Despite being the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year, the $160 million-budgeted ‘Kingdom’ needs sustained momentum to match its predecessors’ earnings: ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ ($481 million), “War for the Planet of the Apes” ($490 million), and ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ ($710 million).

‘IF’ Trails Behind: 

Paramount’s fantasy-comedy ‘IF,’ directed by John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds, trailed in fourth place on international charts, earning $11.3 million from 64 territories. Domestically, it added around $21 million over the four-day holiday weekend, bringing its worldwide total to $103.6 million. With a production budget of $110 million and substantial marketing costs, ‘IF’ will need to maintain strong performance throughout the summer to justify its expenses.

-Gayathri J