“We’re never getting another Mad Max film”: Fans Have Given Up Hope on George Miller’s Iconic Franchise After Furiosa Struggles Badly at Box Office
There are some franchises in the film business that open doors of opportunities for the production studios as they usher in great success and reviews. Like with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Warner Bros tried to create something special by diving into the past of the lead character.
The movie charts young Furiosa’s journey home after falling into the hands of a warlord in the wastelands. From battling for her identity to finding a way back home, Furiosa’s path is filled with deadly challenges and intriguing characters.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Struggles at the Box Office
Despite enjoying a fruitful release during the Memorial Day Weekend, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in lead roles, has underperformed at the box office. The movie which was made with a nearly $168 million budget only managed to collect close to $30 million. According to Variety, this has been one of the worst movie openings on Memorial Day Weekend in over thirty years.
Moving beyond the domestic borders, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is crawling rather than running at the International box office as well. It has collected $33.3 million from 75 territories, amounting to a worldwide tally of $58.9 million.
Speculations suggest that the movie’s failure can be chalked to a general opinion that prequels hardly do as well as sequels that take the story forward. From Star Wars to Hunger Games, all major franchises have suffered a bit when marketing prequel movies.
The actors and the production crew ensured adequate marketing and spread the word about the movie well. There was even a high visibility press tour organized for the movie with the actors walking the Cannes Film Festival red carpet as well. However, there seems to be some other disconnect between the movie and the masses. Moreover, the initial reviews appreciated Hemsworth in the villainous role and even lauded the storyline. So, what’s stopping people from heading to the theatres and watching Furiosa?
Fans React to Furiosa’s Box Office Impact
Mad Max is a money-minting franchise for Warner Bros by the visionary filmmaker George Miller. But, it seems like people are not interested in Furiosa’s story when there are so many other intriguing characters to focus on. At least that’s what the reigning sentiment among fans says according to the posts shared on X.
Imo it was a poor choice to focus on Furiosa. Average person was not invested in her story.
— The Non-Advising Advisor (@NoAdviseAdvisor) May 26, 2024
Starting to look like a trend that extends beyond the Mad Max Cinematic Universe
— Eugene (@decryptozone) May 27, 2024
Going to see this tonight so can’t speak to the quality of it yet but I gotta say I don’t think the Mad Max anthology should be held captive by the performance of a spin-off/prequel nobody was really asking for
— Zach Forbes (@ZachForbesBro) May 26, 2024
Why bother going to theatre when it will be on streaming 4 weeks after release.
— TheFocused1 (@TheFocused1_com) May 27, 2024
More people have joined in on this discussion and claimed that the Mad Max franchise stands for a more dystopian adventure rather than a character’s ride back home. Moreover, the impact of streaming still lingers in the film business since people don’t want to spend money to watch a movie that will eventually land on a streaming platform in a few weeks. In the end, it feels as if fans have stopped hoping for a good film from this franchise as they have been burnt a few times now. We have to wait and see if Miller can infuse new life to the franchise with more sequels in the future.
