Australian blockbuster Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has posted a soft box office opening, taking $3.3 million locally and an estimated $US58.9 million in total around the world.
The film, the fifth in the Max Max franchise, opened across 630 local screens giving it a strong $5290 screen average. However, the result is still below expectations given the film’s massive budget and promotion.
While Furiosa has been well reviewed by critics and audiences, and propelled by a massive global marketing campaign, it doesn’t appear to have translated beyond the Mad Max franchise’s core audience.
The last installment, Mad Max: Fury Road, grossed almost $6.2 million when it opened in Australia in 2015. It went on to take $21.7 million in Australia, which at the time made it the ninth biggest Australian film in history (it is now ranked thirteenth). Based on its opening weekend performance, Furiosa is unlikely to achieve those heights.
Data analytics company Vista Group said Furiosa‘s opening weekend audience was similar to 2015’s Fury Road – both films attracted a predominantly male opening weekend audience (70 per cent versus 68 per cent for Fury Road). Furiosa saw a majority of infrequent moviegoers attend (41 per cent versus 30 per cent) while Fury Road attracted a majority of frequent moviegoers (37 per cent versus 27 per cent).
In the US, Furiosa grossed an estimated $US31 million between Friday and Memorial Day on Monday – the same level as the much lower-budgeted The Garfield Movie. It was poor news for cinema owners, with the total holiday weekend result the worst in nearly three decades.
Meanwhile in Australia, animated fantasy comedy IF came in at number two with $1.74 million while Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes took out third spot with $1.18 million. The Fall Guy grossed another $665,072 to reach $12.45 million in its fifth week. Martial arts film Twilight of Warriors: Walled In took $ 229,136 across just 35 screens in its opening weekend.
Australian film The Way, My Way, added $163,227 in its second weekend at cinemas. It was a 25 per cent drop on its opening, which brings its tally to $662,206. The film is based on Bill Bennett’s best-selling book and tracks his walk along the famed 800-kilometre-long Camino de Santiago trail in Spain.
Australian box office data is sourced via Numero.
Australian films box office performance (2024)
| Film | Budget (est) | Distributor | Opening w/e | Weeks | Box office |
| Force of Nature: The Dry 2 | Roadshow | $1.6m | 13 | $7.31m | |
| Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga | $400m est. | Warner Bros. | $3.33m | 1 | $3.33m |
| Late Night With The Devil | – | Maslow Entertainment | $242,000 | 6 | $878,000 |
| The Way, My Way | Maslow Entertainment | $218,163 | 1 | $662,206 | |
| Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back | Maslow Entertainment | $88,000 | 9 | $365,278 | |
| The Trust Fall: Julian Assange | Journeyman Pictures/Films For Change | $1300 | 18 | $333,000 | |
| The Road to Patagonia | Madman | 15 | $323,000 | ||
| Before Dawn | $10m | Umbrella | $99,971 | 8 | $264,000 |
| Just a Farmer | $1.9m | VAM Paddock Productions | $40,070 | 9 | $143,000 |
| The Rooster | Bonsai Films | $24,480 | 14 | $71,000 | |
| The Emu War | – | Umbrella Entertainment | – | 17 | $13,298 |
| TOTAL | $13.69m |
Films shot in Australia box office performance (2024)
| Film | Budget (est) | Distributor | Opening w/e | Weeks | Box office |
| Anyone But You | $US25m | Sony | $2.87m | 15 | $22.64m |
| Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | $US135-$US150m | Warner Bros. | $5.6m | 8 | $18.82 |
| The Fall Guy | $US125m | Universal | $3.7m | 4 | $12.46m |
| Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | $US160m | Disney | $3.78m | 2 | $9.15m |
| TOTAL | $63.07m |