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