IF Stalls at Conjunction Junction; Garfield Gets a Hairball; Furiosa Not so Mad - Weeks 3 & 4

 The month of May traditionally starts the Summer Movie Season with a bang. This was more like a whoopee cushion. 

In the last four weeks we’ve had opening weekends of $27 million, $56 million, $33 million, and $32 million. Last year two films, Guardians 3 and Little Mermaid 1B, debuted in May with $115 million and $95 million. Quite the drop. 

IF did the best it could as a high-concept family film about grief and connection masquerading as silly nonsense. It opened with $33 million and only dropped 50% in its second weekend, which isn’t too shabby, yet any hopes of it being this season’s Wonka went wonky. 

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga had a sag debut with $32 million over the holiday weekend. Apparently, most filmgoers did not want to take another ride down this Fury Road. Hopefully this will inspire George Miller to forget about this gonzo wasteland and finally return back to the farm to make Ferdinand: A Babe “The Talking Pig” Saga. That’s the film the world really needs!

 

Garfield ate a little more than Jon’s lasagna but definitely didn’t stay for dessert. The animated feature began with $31 million, yet it may have a little more staying power than Furiosa as there’s not another kids flick opening until Inside Out 2 in mid-June. 

Meanwhile, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes held fairly well with drops of 55% and 47% and has clearly stood out as the lone “hit” of May 2024. With a total of $127 million so far, these Apes are going to stand on their perch and roll barrels at all oncomers like Donkey Kong for as long as they can. 

The Top Five If Today Was Labor Day:

#1. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - $127 million

#2. The Fall Guy - $74.2 million

#3. IF - $64.9 million

#4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - $32.3 million

#5. Garfield - $31.2 million

“Fall Guy” Falls While “Apes” Monkey See Monkey Do - Weeks 1 & 2

 The 2024 Summer Blockbuster Pool may have started with a firecracker, but we at least have some sparklers going off now.

The Fall Guy debuted to an underwhelming $27.7 million opening weekend. While reviews and audiences approved, it didn’t hit the mark the stunt people were hoping for. For poolers who picked it for their final Top 5, it’s like the director’s already yelled “cut” before they had a chance to film. 

Meanwhile, The Monkees couldn’t stop monkeying around in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The film opened with $58 million which should give the studio some comfort in continuing the franchise along after a seven year break. More importantly, they name-dropped Caesar so much during the flick I couldn’t help but order a caesar salad afterwards. Product placements really have an impact on consumers! 

The next few weeks will determine if the Apes are back to rule the world or IF it’s a Mad Mad Mad Max world afterall. 

 

The Top Five If Today Was Labor Day:

#1. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - $58 million

#2. The Fall Guy - $50 million

#3. n/a

#4. n/a

#5. n/a

 

*****

Extra Bonus Section

 

As per the Week 1 tradition (or I guess, Week 2 this year… oops!), here are my esteemed, extremely well thought-out, and certainly terrible 2024 Summer Movie Pool prognostications. 

#1. Despicable Me 4 - It was a toss-up for me between this and Deadpool, yet Minions 2 made $375 million just last summer and that 4th of July window seemed too big for this not to come somewhere close. Even if I think we all prefer the gibberish yellow guys more than a Gru-focused story these days, we’ll all take what we can get and Universal will take it all the way to the bank..     

 

#2. Deadpool & Wolverine - Deadpool 2 finished around $320 million and unless there’s a complete Wonder Woman ‘84-like quality drop, this film should have no problem getting there again. Audiences may be tired of “same ole, same ole” comic book movies, but nothing was “same ole” about Deadpool. That’s what made the films so unique and popular.      

 

#3. Inside Out 2 - Ugh, I’m so nervous about this. Pixar and Disney have been spiraling since Covid with their animated movies. Still, Inside Out was an extremely popular movie from nine years ago and I’m hoping, wishing, and praying this film performs more like the gangbusters that were the hit Pixar sequels The Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory and not like last year’s “Uh, I guess it was ok” Elemental. Com’on, Joy… Don’t let me down and let Sadness win this time! I’m hoping for something in the $250 million range. 

 

#4. Bad Boys: Ride or Die - The last Bad Boys film made just over $200 million and it was WAY more enjoyable than the laborious Bad Boys 2. I don’t care about the Will Smith slap. If this film can just deliver the action fun and the comedy funny, this’ll be a welcome breezy film that audiences will scoop-up this summer. 

  

#5. A Quiet Place: Day One - This was the hardest call. It was between this, Apes, and Mad Max for me. All three were franchises I saw in the $150-$180 million final tally range. In the end, I thought Mad Max and Apes are too complicated for quick consumption/explanation. Also, it’s been longer since their previous movies. Meanwhile, Quiet Place has had more recent success and everyone understands the “aliens kill you if you make sound” concept. I rolled my dice and went with what I thought was the “hotter” franchise. Com’on, QP, don’t fail me now!

Good luck, everyone!