Jun 6, 2024,

Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy attend the Australian premiere of "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga"
Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy attend the Australian premiere of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.” Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

This Memorial Day Weekend was not great for the box office. In fact, it was the worst Memorial Day for the movies since the ’90s. The entire domestic box office pulled in just $126 million — in years past, the No. 1 movie alone has made as much as $160 million, as “Top Gun: Maverick” did in 2022.

A few factors have led to this. First, the WGA/SAG strikes last year put many productions on pause, so some of the bigger movies won’t come out until later in the year.

Another factor is streaming and VOD. “The Fall Guy,” which came out just a month ago, is already available to rent at home. For a family, it’s cheaper to spend $20 to rent something at home than $50-plus on tickets, snacks, and drinks.

And finally? People just weren’t convinced they needed to see some of these films on the big screen.

“Furiosa” opened to a bleak $32 million over the four-day Memorial Day Weekend.

Anya Taylor-Joy behind a wall of fire
Anya Taylor-Joy in “Furiosa.” Warner Bros.

As The Wrap pointed out, “Furiosa’s” $32 million opening weekend is the lowest No. 1 total for a Memorial Day Weekend since 1995, when “Casper” topped the box office with $22 million.

Another depressing stat for the “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel? According to Screen Rant, it had the worst second-week drop of any “Mad Max” movie, plunging a staggering 59%.

Now, why exactly is “Furiosa” flopping so hard? It might be a case of unreasonable expectations. “Fury Road” is rightfully hailed as one of the best action movies of all time, but it didn’t light the box office on fire at first either. Its domestic opening in 2015 was $42.4 million, ending up at a respectable $380 million worldwide.

Also, Anya-Taylor Joy (who plays the titular Furiosa) is famous but not a definite movie star yet — arguably, her big break was for a TV show (“The Queen’s Gambit”), and her last big cinematic hits (“Dune: Part Two” and “The Menu”) were sold on bigger stars like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Ralph Fiennes.

source: https://www.businessinsider.com/most-surprising-box-office-flops-of-the-year-2024-6#the-fall-guy-didnt-light-up-box-offices-in-the-way-some-thought-it-would-3