In a cinematic showdown that even Garfield would find surprising, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” narrowly outraced “The Garfield Movie” at the North American box office. Both films battled it out, with Warner Bros. and Sony each vying for the top spot by bringing in about $25 million over the weekend and an estimated $31 million for the Memorial Day weekend.
When the dust settled on Monday’s numbers, “Furiosa” reigned supreme with $26.2 million over the weekend and a total of $32 million over four days. But wait, here comes Garfield speeding close behind, clawing in $24 million over the weekend and $31.1 million for the extended holiday stretch.
But hold your popcorn because despite one film triumphing over lasagna-loving felines, this Memorial Day weekend turned out to be one of Hollywood’s worst in almost thirty years – excluding 2020 when COVID shut down theaters faster than you can say Odie. Comparisons to previous Memorial Day weekends are as stark as Jon Arbuckle without his coffee; we’re talking a 36% decline from 2023! It’s like comparing lasagna to seafood – both delicious but very different.
Let’s talk turkey (or should I say turkey dinosaurs?) — this rough patch at the box office has Hollywood sweating more than Garfield when Mondays roll around. Ticket sales are lagging behind not only last year but also behind 2019 by a staggering 41%. That’s more shocking than finding normal food in Garfield’s fridge instead of lasagna!
Now onto our leading lady, “Furiosa,” who was expected to roar louder than a V8 engine with an opening of $40-45 million during this holiday stint. Yet, even with these dreams of grandeur, her earnings wavered at just $26.2 million domestically and globally at only $65 million so far. I guess even in an action-packed world like “Mad Max,” sometimes you hit max capacity a bit too soon!
As we peel back layers like an onion (or maybe like Garfield trying to get to that last slice of lasagna), we see that analysts believe “Furiosa” stumbled not because it lacked horsepower but because prequels often struggle to rev their engines as high as direct sequels do—especially when they’re missing their original stars. Even with stellar reviews, it seems this tale just couldn’t paint its chrome beyond its core group of older male viewers.
And on the other side of town sits our dapper feline friend, Garfield! Costing around $60 million but selling tickets like his life depends on it, this cat has managed to purr into hearts worldwide with global earnings already reaching a whopping $91.1 million! Chris Pratt lends his voice (sorry Andy Dwyer fans!) to bring everyone’s favorite Monday-hater to life and into dollar signs.
So there you have it folks—a weekend showdown where we learned that even though box office battles can be fierce enough to curl whiskers, there’s always room for surprises in Hollywood; just ask Garfield how he feels about Mondays now…