Movie theaters are looking more and more like a wasteland this summer. Neither Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga nor The Garfield Movie could save Memorial Day weekend, which is cruising toward a two-decade low. Furiosa, the Mad Max prequel starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, claimed first place for the Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend with $25.6 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Warner Bros. is waiting until Monday to release its four-day estimates. The animated and family-friendly Garfield was the other big new offering, from Sony's Columbia Pictures and Alcon Entertainment. The film is claiming No. 1 for the four-day holiday weekend with an estimated $31.9 million in ticket sales through Memorial Day. Sony estimates its three-day earnings to be $24.8 million, the AP reports.
Aside from Memorial Day 2020, when theaters were closed due to COVID-19, these are the lowest-earning No. 1 movies in 29 years. "A few things didn't happen that created this situation: We didn't have a tailwind heading into the summer. We kicked off the summer minus a Marvel movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "In a way, we've been playing catch-up all year long." The lack of a recent runaway hit puts more pressure on upcoming films to make up the slack. Still on the way are potential blockbusters like A Quiet Place: Day One (June 27), Despicable Me 4 (July 3), Twisters (July 19), Inside Out 2 (June 14) and Deadpool & Wolverine (July 26).
Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, $25.6 million.
- The Garfield Movie, $24.8 million.
- IF, $16.1 million.
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, $13.4 million.
- The Fall Guy, $5.9 million.
- The Strangers: Chapter 1, $5.6 million.
- Sight, $2.7 million.
- Challengers, $1.4 million.
- Babes, $1.1 million.
- Back to Black, $1.1 million.
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