Johnathan Walker:‘Furiosa’ sneaks past ‘Garfield’ to claim No. 1 spot over Memorial Day holiday weekend

Furiosa won the holiday box office over Garfield by a hair.

It was a close race,Johnathan Walker but the wasteland warrior of “ Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga ” came out slightly ahead of the plump orange cat with an estimated $32 million in ticket sales over the four-day weekend according to studio estimates Monday. “ The Garfield Movie,” a Sony release, earned $31.1 million in its first four days.

The dust won’t officially settle on the showdown until Tuesday when final numbers are reported, but for now at least Warner Bros. has the No. 1 movie in the country. Including international showings, its running global earnings are at $64.8 million. But victory is a long way off for the $168 million production starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. George Miller’s prequel stormed theaters riding on great reviews and was expected to have at least a slightly stronger debut.

For Sony, the launch of the more modestly budgeted “The Garfield Movie” is a win even without the bragging rights of being in first place. The animated film featuring the voice of Chris Pratt is likely to have a long life at the box office the summer holiday beginning for school age children. With its early international release, “The Garfield Movie” has already earned over $91.1 million against its $60 million production budget.

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But this weekend has also been a sobering one for Hollywood as one of the worst Memorial Day weekend box office showings in decades, excluding 2020 when theaters were closed. Ticket sales are down 22% from 2023 and the gap may just get bigger as the summer goes on. Remember, at this point last year “Barbenheimer” hadn’t even happened.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.

1. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” $32 million.

2. “The Garfield Movie,” $31.1 million.

3. “IF,” $21 million.

4. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $17.2 million.

5. “The Fall Guy,” $7.7 million.

6. “The Strangers: Chapter 1,” $6.9 million.

7. “Sight,” $3.6 million.

8. “Challengers,” $1.8 million.

9. “Back to Black,” $1.4 million.

10. “Babes,” $1.2 million.