Furiosa: Mad Max saga disappoints at the box office

Hollywood had high hopes for the latest installment in the "Mad Max" franchise, "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," expecting it to dominate the box office over the holiday weekend. However, the big-budget prequel by Warner Bros. fell short of expectations.

Despite costing a whopping $168 million to produce, not including substantial marketing expenses, "Furiosa" only managed to collect an estimated $25.6 million in revenue in the United States and Canada from Thursday night to Sunday. The film was expected to bring in just $5.4 million on Monday, resulting in a holiday-weekend total of a mere $31 million.

Historically Low Performance

This disappointing performance marks the worst Memorial Day weekend result in 43 years when adjusted for inflation. The last time such a low figure was recorded was in 1981 with the film "Bustin’ Loose," which collected $24 million, excluding the year 2020 when theaters were mostly closed due to the pandemic.

In comparison, the franchise's previous chapter, "Mad Max: Fury Road," raked in $45.4 million in 2015, which would translate to approximately $61 million in today’s dollars, even without the advantage of a holiday weekend.