Hollywood's crucial summer movie season has commenced with a significant stumble, as the Memorial Day weekend box office registered its lowest total in nearly three decades. The combined North American revenue for all films reached approximately $85 million over the four-day holiday, a figure not seen since 1999, excluding the pandemic-impacted year of 2020.
Disappointing Debut for Blockbusters
Two highly anticipated new releases, "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" and "The Garfield Movie," both underperformed against expectations. Warner Bros.' "Furiosa," the prequel to "Mad Max: Fury Road," brought in an estimated $32 million across the four-day period. This fell short of its projected $40 million to $45 million opening and marks the lowest Memorial Day launch in 29 years, since "Casper" debuted with $16.7 million in 1995. Despite strong critical reviews, boasting an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes, audience reception was more mixed, earning a B+ CinemaScore.
Meanwhile, Sony's animated feature "The Garfield Movie" also struggled to ignite the box office, taking in $31.1 million over the holiday weekend. The film, which had a budget of $60 million, also received a B+ CinemaScore from moviegoers. Globally, "The Garfield Movie" has fared better, accumulating $98.1 million since its international release a week prior, compared to "Furiosa's" $58.9 million worldwide haul against its $168 million budget.
Wider Industry Concerns Emerge
The sluggish holiday weekend has raised alarms across the industry. David A. Gross, a franchise consultant at Franchise Entertainment Research, commented on the situation, stating, "This is a weak Memorial Day opening." Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian echoed these sentiments, noting that "The industry is challenged at the moment," and viewing the weekend's results as "a symptom of a larger issue."
Last year's Memorial Day weekend generated a much healthier $150 million. Other films in theaters also saw modest returns this holiday. Paramount's "IF" added $16.1 million, bringing its total to $80.3 million against a $110 million budget. "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" from 20th Century Studios earned $13.3 million, pushing its cumulative domestic gross to $126 million (budget $160 million). Universal's "The Fall Guy" took in $2.9 million, reaching $80.3 million domestically from a $130 million budget.
Background: A Challenged Year for Cinema
The struggles of the Memorial Day weekend are set against a backdrop of a challenging year for the film industry. The total North American box office for 2024 currently stands at approximately $3.2 billion. This represents a significant decline of 23% compared to the same period in 2023, and a more substantial 42% drop when measured against the pre-pandemic figures from 2019. Director George Miller, for his part, expressed disappointment that "Furiosa" had not been released on streaming platforms during the pandemic, although the film itself was delayed and not available at that time.