Summary
Following the box office failure ofFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller’s critically acclaimed prequel has found new life on video on demand. As one of the most highly-anticipated movies of 2024,Furiosawas projected to bring in between $40-50 million on its opening weekend alonebut grossed a disappointing $26 million in its first few days upon release. Critically speaking,Furiosais one of theten best films of 2024even though it doesn’t have the box office performance to back it up. It appears that theMad Maxfranchise lost some of its appealwithout Tom Hardy’s involvement.
WhileFuriosais still screening in select theaters, it has only grossed$171 million worldwide against a hefty production budget of $168 million. The prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular protagonist who was first introduced in the celebrated 2015 blockbusterMad Max: Fury Road. By comparison,Fury Roadwasn’t a massive success at the box office, earning just over $368 million worldwide and finishing as the twentieth highest-grossing movie of a stacked year at the 2015 box office led by the $2.06 billion gross ofStar Wars Ep VII: The Force AwakensandJurassic World’s$1.67 billion.
Furiosa Dominating VOD Sales Is A Positive After Its Box Office Performance
Furiosa’s box office flop defied most expert expectations
It’s great to seeFuriosafinally getting more of the recognition it deserves on video-on-demand platforms. While it may not necessarily replicate the effects of a larger box office, the VOD sales forFuriosaare a promising sign for future installments of the overallMad Maxfranchise.Furiosahas officially topped two separate VOD charts, iTunes and Fandango, and isavailable for digital purchase for $24.99. It came in at number one on the iTunes VOD chart for July 1 and the Fandango at Home chart for the week of June 24-30. The iTunes chart is based on the number of transactions, while Fandango at Home’s chart is based on revenue.
The most surprising aspect ofFuriosa’sbox office flop was how well-received it was by critics and audiences alike. The film garnered a Certified Fresh critic score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes while also attaining a nearly identical audience score of 89%. WhileFuriosa’scritic score was slightly below that ofMad Max: Fury Road,which earned a very high critic score of 97%, it actually beatFury Road’saudience score of 86%. This, combined with the fact thatFuriosa’sexceptional visuals and sound make it a must-see in the theater, makes its poor box office performance even more puzzling.
10 Reasons Furiosa Underperformed At The Box Office Despite Its 90% Rotten Tomatoes Score
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has been met with universally positive reviews and good word-of-mouth – so why is it underperforming at the box office?
What Went Wrong With Furiosa’s Box Office?
Casting choices and the absence of Tom Hardy may have contributed
It’s hard to truly pinpoint exactly whyFuriosaflopped so badly at the box office. With a wide release date of August 12, 2025, it opened right in time for the extended Memorial Day Weekend, which in theory should have given the film’s opening some type of boost.It could have something to do with the casting of Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular protagonistwho, outside of a few M. Night Shyamalan films, hasn’t appeared onscreen in too many profitable movies. She starred in the Oscar-contendingThe Menualongside Ralph Fiennes, which earned roughly $76 million against a budget of $30 million.
Of course, Taylor-Joy voiced Princess Peach inThe Super Mario Bros.movie, an animated film, so she wasn’t necessarily the main pull. The same can be said ofDune: Part Two, which she only appears in for one scene.Taylor-Joy also isn’t recognized as an action star, although Chris Hemsworth should have been able to fill some seats in his villainous role as Dementus. Ultimately, there’s no definitive method for figuring out what went wrong withFuriosaat the box office, especially because so many of its qualities were aligned for it to become a smash hit.
Furiosa’s Box Office Explained: What The Hell Happened With The Mad Max Prequel?!
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga performed poorly in its opening weekend and is shaping up to be one of the biggest box office disappointments of 2024.
Could Furiosa Still Become A Success?
Critically it’s already a triumph
It is still a long shot forFuriosato still be considered a certified success after its box office woes, but there are lots of factors that may benefit that position in hindsight. The budget was considerably high even though a good chunk of the funding came from governmental grants in Australia. It’s important to remember thatMad Max: Fury Roadwasn’t a major hit to begin withand was helped by a strong VOD/home media performance as well. Still,Fury Road’sbox office gross was much higher thanFuriosa’s, so maybe it doesn’t have much of a shot at pulling itself out of its hole, which is disheartening.
The2024 box officehas been difficult to make sense of at times, withFuriosa’sbox office failure being one of the main examples of a modern unjustifiable flop.Critically acclaimed films such asMonkey ManandOrdinary Angelshave also underperformed drasticallydespite receiving Rotten Tomatoes scores of 89% and 84% from critics, respectively. It appears that widespread critical acclaim, even with positive audience ratings to back it up, isn’t enough to attract a strong box office nowadays. Of course, box office success is still dependent on profit, while modern box office appeal remains more of a mystery.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa Makes Charlize Theron In Mad Max: Fury Road Even Better
Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance in Furiosa makes Mad Max: Fury Road even better by harnessing feminine rage to illuminate Charlize Theron’s performance.
Miller should be allowed to make as many as he wants
Critically speaking, the future of Mad Max still looks bright, with each of its five movies being praised by critics.Furiosawas rated the same as the originalMad Maxstarring Mel Gibson on Rotten Tomatoes, withFury Roadstill considered the pinnacle of the franchise. At this point in his career,the 79-year-old George Miller can probably continue to make as manyMad Maxmovies as he desires for the sake of cinema, although perhaps at slightly lower budgets. Tom Hardy recently expressed that he is doubtful he will appear in anotherMad Maxfilm, but there is a possibility Miller will recast that titular part.
The main issue with the modernMad Maxfranchise appears to be time. With nearly a decade separating the last twoMad Maxmovies, Miller would do well to release his nextMad Maxfilm sometime in the next five years, especially since all of that time crafting Furiosa did not necessarily pay off financially. While the acclaimed director is known for other classic movies such asHappy FeetandLorenzo’s Oil, his legacy belongs to the triumph of theMad Maxfranchise. It would be shocking if Miller didn’t make anotherMad Maxmovie and even worse if a studio didn’t allow him to.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Cast
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
