Worst Memorial Day in 30 years

Memorial Day box office is no picnic this year.

Alcon and Sony Garfield movie Claims victory before George Miller Furiosa With an estimated $31.9 million four-holiday gross, it is the worst Memorial Day No. 1 opening since Kasper It debuted to $22.5 million nearly 30 years ago in 1995 (and this is not adjusted for inflation). This statistic excludes 2020, when theaters were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the race is not over yet. Furiosa Make more than Garfield for the three-weekend with an estimated $25.6 million versus $24.8 million, but the four-day number is the key stat. Rival studios are also appearing Furiosa Slightly forward for four days or connect the two films. Warners took the unusual position of not reporting a four-day estimate until Monday (with the race so close and the headlines so bad, it’s easy to understand why the studio would deviate from tradition).

Neither film was well received by audiences, with both receiving a B+ CinemaScore. Furiosa It grossed $10.2 million on Friday from 3,804 theaters, compared to $8.4 million for Garfield From 4,035 sites. This is a small gap considering the latter is a family film.

With no leftovers to contribute significantly to the Memorial Day Picnic, total revenue for the four days fell to an estimated $127 million to $130 million, also a 29-year low. This excludes 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic was still raging, although Paramount A quiet place The sequel was able to open to $57.1 million during holiday 2021.

Furiosaa prequel that sees Anya Taylor-Joy playing a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character in the final film, was expected to open to $40 million to $45 million for the four-day holiday, but instead the latest summer event picture performed Weak in its release (the exception is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes). Mad Max: Fury Road It opened with a three-day gross of $45.4 million.

Miller’s film cost $168 million before it was marketed. Garfieldin which the title character was voiced by Chris Pratt, was financed entirely by Alcon, cost a more modest $60 million and opened in line with expectations.

Elsewhere, Angel Studios continues to try to emulate the incredible success it had last summer Freedom’s voice But so far he has not come close to doing so. This weekend, the film Faith Next Door opens Visionwhich could gross just $3.5 million from 2,100 theaters over a four-day run for seventh place.

Once again in the top five, if It holds a solid third place for its sophomore outing with an estimated four-day gross of $21 million from 4,068 locations for a 10-day domestic total of $63.6 million. The family film’s estimated three-day gross of $16.1 million is down 52 percent, which is a good number considering it’s competing with… Garfield For families. That’s good news for Paramount, director John Krasinski, and star Ryan Reynolds next if He had a soft opening.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which opened in 3,550 theaters, finished fourth in its third run as it approached the $300 million mark worldwide. 20th Century/Disney reported an estimated $17.1 million four-day total for a domestic total of $126.5 million and at least $298.5 million worldwide as of Monday.

Although it is now available to rent on premium VOD, ScapegoatThe $6.2 million total represents a decrease of only 25 percent. Over the four days, the Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt starrer is expected to round out the top five with $8 million from 2,955 locations for a domestic total of $74 million.

May has been a rough start to the summer season with the box office still reeling from the postponement of big titles due to last year’s labor strikes. Marvel Studios typically kicks off the summer during the first weekend in May with a superhero hit, and this year it was scheduled to be Deadpool Wolverine. However, Marvel and Disney were forced to postpone the film – which was forced to halt production due to the SAG-AFTRA strike – by nearly three months to its scheduled release date of July 26.

At the specialty box office, Neon luscious It cracked the top 10 as it expanded to 589 theaters. The drama film earned an estimated $1.3 million four-day cume with a strong domestic total of $1.5 million through its second Sunday.

A24 I saw the glow of the television It finished at No. 13 as it expanded to 458 theaters, earning $642,000 for a four-day domestic cume of $2.8 million.

More is coming.

May 25, 9:45 am: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that it had been 40 years since “Memorial Day” had a very low No. 1 opening.
May 26, 7:35 AM: This story has been updated with revised weekend estimates.

This story was originally published on May 25 at 8:40 a.m