Warner Bros.’ Furiosa narrowly edged out The Garfield Movie over the Memorial Day weekend. By Sunday, Furiosa had pulled in $7.6M compared to Garfield’s $7.4M, leading to four-day estimates of $32M for Furiosa and $31.1M for Garfield.
Despite expectations for Garfield to dominate the matinees, it was Furiosa who took the lead. Garfield saw a strong turnout from Hispanic and Latino audiences, comprising 38% of its weekend viewers. Weather in the South might have also played a role in keeping more people indoors and at the movies. However, according to EntTelligence, more people attended Garfield, with 2.8M admissions compared to Furiosa‘s 2.1M, due to lower average ticket prices for Garfield.
Those who think Memorial Day weekend was a disaster for the box office need to reconsider. Female-led action films often face challenges, and Furiosa’s 3-day ($26.3M) and 4-day totals are in line with similar films like Tomb Raider (2018) and Alita (2019).
Excitement for the summer box office season remains high, especially with the upcoming release of Deadpool and Wolverine, which boasts impressive presale numbers for an R-rated film at $8M+.
Historically, Memorial Day weekend has been a mixed bag for major studio releases. Films like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Tomorrowland (2015), and Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) all underperformed despite the extra day of grosses. Furiosa joins a list of movies that haven’t quite hit the mark over the holiday.
AMC Lincoln Square in NYC was the top-performing theatre for Furiosa, grossing $170K, while Garfield’s best was AMC Burbank at close to $47K.
Despite the close race, Garfield’s modest $60M production cost makes its $97.6M global gross a win for Alcon and Sony. With no major releases next weekend due to ongoing strikes, the box office looks to take a dip. However, Sony aims to rev things up again with Bad Boys: Ride or Die on June 7, eyeing a $50M start.
Box Office Top 10 Right Now:
- Furiosa (WB) – $32M (4-day)
- The Garfield Movie (Alcon/Sony) – $31.1M (4-day)
- If (Par) – $21M (4-day)
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (20th/Dis) – $17.2M (4-day)
- Fall Guy (Uni) – $7.65M (4-day)
- Strangers: Chapter 1 (LG) – $6.9M (4-day)
- Sight (Angel) – $3.6M (4-day)
- Challengers (AMZ MGM) – $1.76M (4-day)
- Back to Black (Foc) – $1.35M (4-day)
- Babes (NEON) – $1.22M (4-day)
Stay tuned for more box office updates and summer blockbuster previews!
