Warner Bros.’ “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” has started its engines at the box office, taking in $3.5 million from 3,400 locations during Thursday preview screenings.
That’s just slightly below the $3.7 million preview total that its predecessor, “Mad Max: Fury Road,” earned in 2015 en route to a $45.4 million opening weekend. “Furiosa” is projected to earn a similar start in the low $40 million range over four days this Memorial Day weekend, with a global launch of $80-85 million.
With a reported budget of around $160 million before marketing, “Furiosa” will need significant legs to be able to turn a theatrical profit and will need to at least match the $372 million global total of “Fury Road.” Premiering at Cannes, reviews and social media buzz have been strong for the prequel with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 89%.
But barring significant overperformance from “Furiosa” or Sony/DNEG’s “The Garfield Movie,” Memorial Day weekend overall totals are projected to finish at around $160 million. That would mark the first time since 1999 that overall totals for the May holiday weekend failed to surpass $180 million.
