The Memorial Day box office is no picnic this year.
Alcon and Sony’s The Garfield Movie is claiming victory ahead of George Miller‘s Furiosa with an estimated four-holiday gross of $31.9 million, the worst Memorial Day No. 1 opener since Casper debuted to $22.5 million nearly 30 years ago in 1995 (and that’s not adjusted for inflation). This stat excludes 2020, when theaters were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the race isn’t over just yet. Furiosa made more than Garfield for the three-weekend with an estimated $25.6 million versus $24.8 million, but the four day number is the key stat. Rival studios either show Furiosa slightly ahead for the four days or have the two movies tied. Warners has taken the unusual position of not reporting a four-day estimate until Monday (with the race so close, and the headlines so bad, it’s easy to understand why the studio is deviating from tradition).
Neither film aced it with audiences, with each receiving a B+ CinemaScore. Furiosa grossed $10.2 million on Friday from 3,804 theaters, versus $8.4 million for Garfield from 4,035 locations. That’s a small gap considering the latter is a family film.
With no holdovers to contribute in a massive way to the Memorial Day picnic, overall revenue for the four days plummeted to an estimated $127 million to $130 million, also a 29-year low. That excludes 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic was still raging, though Paramount’s A Quiet Place sequel was able to open to $57.1 million over the holiday in 2021.
Furiosa, a prequel that sees Anya Taylor-Joy play a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character in the last film, had been expected to open to $40 million to $45 million for the four-day holiday but instead is the latest summer event pic to underperform in its launch (an exception is The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes). Mad Max: Fury Road started off with a three-day gross of $45.4 million.
Miller’s film cost a pricey $168 million to make before marketing. Garfield, in which the title character is voiced by Chris Pratt, was financed entirely by Alcon, cost a much more modest $60 million and opened in line with expectations.
Elsewhere, Angel Studios continues to try to emulate the stunning success of last summer’s Sound of Freedom but so far hasn’t come close to doing so. This weekend, it is opening the faith-adjacent film Sight, which may only gross $3.5 million from 2,100 cinemas for the four days for a seventh-place finish.
Back in the top five, IF is holding firmly at No. 3 in its sophomore outing with an estimated four-day gross of $21 million from 4,068 locations for a 10-day domestic total of $63.6 million. The family pic’s estimated three-day gross of $16.1 million is down 52 percent, a decent hold considering it is competing with Garfield for families. That’s needed good news for Paramount, director John Krasinski and star Ryan Reynolds after IF had a soft opening.
The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, playing in 3,550 theaters, placed No. 4 in its third outing as it nears the $300 million mark globally. The 20th Century/Disney tentpole reported an estimated four-day gross of $17.1 million for a domestic total of $126.5 million and at least $298.5 million globally through Monday.
And despite now being available to rent on premium VOD, The Fall Guy‘s estimated three-tally of $6.2 million marks a drop of just 25 percent. For the four days, the Ryan Gosling-Emily Blunt starrer is expected to round out the top five with $8 million from 2,955 locations for a domestic tally of $74 million.
May has been a brutal start to the summer season as the box office continues to suffer from marquee titles being pushed back because of last year’s labor strikes. Marvel Studios usually kicks off summer over the first weekend in May with a superhero tentpole, and this year it was going to be Deadpool & Wolverine. Marvel and Disney, however, had to push the film — which had to halt production because of the SAG-AFTRA strike — back by nearly three months to a planned July 26 release date.
At the specialty box office, Neon’s Babes cracked the top 10 as it expanded into 589 theaters. The dramedy earned an estimated $1.3 million for the four days for a solid domestic total of $1.5 million through its second Sunday.
A24’s I Saw the TV Glow placed No. 13 as it expanded into 458 theaters, earning a so-so $642,000 for the four days for domestic cume of $2.8 million.
More to come.
May 25, 9:45 a.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly said it has been 40 years since a No. 1 Memorial Day movie opened so low.
May 26, 7:35 a.m.: This story has been updated with revised weekend estimates.
This story was originally published on May 25 at 8:40 a.m.
