The Mad Max franchise is currently on pause following the poor box office performance of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a prequel to the 2015 hit Mad Max Fury Road, which recorded one of the worst Memorial Day weekend openings in years.
With a production budget of $160 million, Furiosa grossed approximately $70 million globally over Memorial Day weekend, falling significantly short of its break-even point, not including marketing and promotional expenses. Consequently, the studio has decided to put a hold on plans for director George Miller’s Mad Max: The Wasteland, which was intended to be a sequel to Fury Road. According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR):
Miller and Nico Lathouris developed the scripts for both The Wasteland and Furiosa during the creation of Mad Max: Fury Road, the 2015 Warner Bros. film that unexpectedly became a critical darling, winning six Oscars and securing its status as an action classic. The Wasteland was meant to follow Max Rockatansky in the year leading up to Fury Road and was expected to feature a young mother and plenty of action.
At the opening weekend of Fury Road, the audience was split 60% male and 40% female, based on PostTrak exit surveys. However, Furiosa‘s audience consisted of 71% male and 29% female viewers, a concerning drop, especially for a film marketed as female-centric. Additionally, the key 18-24 age group saw a significant decline from 31% for Fury Road to 21% for Furiosa.
Director George Miller mentioned to journalists in early May that the future of his Mad Max sequel would hinge on Furiosa‘s box office performance. Despite its poor financial showing, Furiosa has been well received by those who saw it, earning a respectable 7.9 rating on IMDB and a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Insiders and marketing experts suggest the film’s failure likely stems from its attempt to present a Mad Max story without the titular character. One theater executive noted that studios might have better success with lower-budget projects tailored to the dedicated fanbase.
“IP like Mad Max and Ghostbusters is old, and they have the fans they’re going to have,” the executive told THR. “If studios can budget to that, they might make some decent money.”
“I think Furiosa suffered without Charlize. People who see the movie love it. The problem is getting them into theaters. She would have been able to do that,” another studio insider said.
