Anya Taylor-Joy took upon the role of Furiosa in the spin-off and prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The film is the fifth overall franchise and focuses on the titular character which was originally played by Charlize Theron. After Charlize Theron’s exceptional performance as Furiosa, all eyes were on Anya Taylor-Joy to see how she would live up to her predecessor.
While both the film and Anya Taylor-Joy received praise from the critics, it looks like the film still has a long way to go to prove itself at the box office. Surprisingly, Furiosa has become the film to have the lowest opening for a Memorial Day movie in over forty years.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa Off to a Rocky Start
As per Deadline, Furiosa is looking at a possible lowest opening for a Memorial Day film that has been released in the last 4 decades. The film is expected to make somewhere between $31 – 35 million in four days and for the remaining weekend, it is estimated to bring in about $27.5 million from 3,804 theatres including IMAX.
If the film’s 4-day earnings fall on the lower side of the estimate, it would be the lowest four-day gross for a Memorial Day weekend No. 1 movie since 1983, when Return of the Jedi earned $30.5 million. Given the fact this was the 80s’, $30.5 million was actually a huge deal, compared to today.
On the other hand, if the film makes $35 million, it would be the lowest Memorial Day weekend opening since Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, which earned $33.9 million. Again, it’s a pretty good number for the time.
Of course, fans have something to say:
Dang!! The movie looked bad, but I’m surprised it’s THIS BAD!!
— Antoine M. Dillard, MFA (@IndyFilmAntoine) May 25, 2024
Not surprised. I’m telling you, we are tired of sequels, prequels, nostalgia, franchises (Jurassic movies the exception to the rule ‘cause we love dinosaurs) horror succeeds there because those are extremely cheap to make. We want new quality content. pic.twitter.com/hjFiQGe1ch
— Emmanuel Zaher (@emmanuel_zaher) May 25, 2024
The first one was not a a big commercial success why did the studio think one with less star power in the lead would do any better
— Steven T (@steventphoto) May 25, 2024
Stay with me Box office, Stay with me pic.twitter.com/cP27lq20gG
— Ignacio ✌🏽 (@mexican8nacho) May 25, 2024
Saw it today and thought it was just okay. I enjoyed fury road so much more.
— Lesley W 🍭🍯🦌 (@LesleyAWorrell) May 25, 2024
As for its first day in theaters, Furiosa made $11 million, which includes $3.5 million from Thursday night previews. Its predecessor, Mad Max: Fury Road grossed $45.4 million in its opening weekend and finished in second place, just before Pitch Perfect 2 which reeled in $69.2 million.
Fury Road’s total box office collection stopped at a little under $370 million. Does Furiosa have what it takes to make more?
Anya Taylor-Joy Feels Lucky to Share Furiosa with Charlize Theron
In an interview with CNN, Anya Taylor-Joy opened up about her meeting with Charlize Theron which took place at the Oscars. She stated that Theron was as cool as people would imagine her to be and that she feels absolutely lucky that she got to play Furiosa and fill in Theron’s shoes.
Taylor-Joy also added that the Atomic Blonde actress is one of her all-time favorites.
She told CNN,
We have emailed a bunch. We met at the Oscars, and she’s just as lovely and gracious and cool as you could imagine. We are due a very long dinner, just to swap war stories. But I feel so lucky to share a character with her. She’s one of my favorite actors and I just think she’s fabulous.
She went on to add that Theron was the reason why she fell in love with Furiosa.
I was lucky enough to fall in love with Furiosa through Charlize’s interpretation in ‘Fury Road.’ I thought that the character was just somebody who had really stuck with me.
Taylor-Joy’s portrayal of Furiosa has been heavily praised by the critics. In its review, The Guardian deemed the actress as “an overwhelmingly convincing action heroine.” Empire also stated that she was “phenomenal” in the role and that she managed to live up to Theron’s performance.
As for the film, RogerEbert.com called it “one of the best prequels ever made.” Chris Hemsworth, who played Dementus, was also praised for his work. On Rotten Tomatoes, Furiosa has a whopping score of 90% on the Tomatometer and an even higher audience score of 92%. Why is it then that the film is struggling at the box office?
Furiosa is currently playing in theatres and you can stream Mad Max: Fury Road on Max.
