Moviegoers will be returning to visionary filmmaker George Miller’s Wasteland over the Memorial Day weekend asAnya Taylor-Joytakes up the titular role first portrayed by Oscar-winner Charlize Theron. Yes,Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagais fixing to drop in cinemas, and the long-awaited prequel to 2015’sMad Max: Fury Roadis convoying its way toward an $80 million to $85-million haul at thebox officeover the four-day holiday (perDeadline).
The long-range forecast (three weeks out) forFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagapredicted a $40 million to $50 million take domestically for the latest installment in Miller’sMad Maxseries of films. That would clearly be enough to win the Memorial Day weekend in the United States, since its only real competition will be against Jim Davis’ lasagna-eating creation, Garfield. And, at the time of this writing, the Chris Pratt-ledThe Garfield Movieis on pace to make $30 million when it debuts in the U.S. on May 24.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
The Garfield Moviehas already made $49 million in international markets, which will make the competition between the family-friendly film andFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagamuch more compelling on the worldwide stage, at least where the movies’ overall totals are concerned. IfFuriosaonly manages an $80-million Memorial Day weekend,The Garfield Moviewill likely end up neck-and-neck with the post-apocalyptic fantasy, with close to $80 million worldwide, also.
Furiosa vs. Garfield: The Battle for Memorial Day Weekend
Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagaseems assured of winning the Memorial Day weekend domestically at the box office. In addition to the film’s forecast of $80 million to $85 million weekend,Furiosaalso has another advantage overThe Garfield Movie. And that isa far superior Rotten Tomatoes scorealong with much better reviews from the critics. At the time of this writing,Furiosaregisters 87% on the Tomatometer, whileGarfieldis struggling with only a 44% rating.
Having the advantage of already premiering in international markets,The Garfield Movieamassed a Rotten Tomatoes score of 67%.However, when the domestic embargo lifted, that already below-average number plummeted all the way to 50%! Currently, it sits at an even worse 48% as the critics are lambasting the animated adventure. The only saving grace appears to be the praised performance of Chris Pratt as the orange tabby Persian cat.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga & The Garfield Movie Eye Epic Box Office Showdown Over Memorial Day Weekend
Will Furiosa and Dementus win Memorial Day weekend, or will it be the lasagna-eating furball and his trusty canine companion Odie?
Ultimately, though, Pratt’s harshest critic may turn out to be his own son, but not whereThe Garfield Movieis concerned. Rather, he likes to make fun of the fact that his father portraysthe “weakest Avenger” in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Pratt said of his child’s critique concerning hisGuardians of the Galaxymainstay in an exclusive interview with MovieWeb:
“And my son is at this age, as a tween, that if he did feel that way, he certainly wouldn’t let me know.So, he tends to, like, more make fun of me, which I think is great becauseit’s sort of our love language to tease each other.But he’s always constantly reminding me of how, you know,Star Lord is the weakest Avengers character and the worst character, or the second-worst character, in the MCU.I’m like, ‘Okay, thanks.'”
The Garfield MovieandFuriosa: A Mad Max Sagaopen in theaters on May 24.
