Garfield might’ve settled for second place last weekend. But this time, the tabby is tops.
The Garfield Movie settled into the No. 1 slot in North America, gobbling up cash as if ticket sales were tubs of lasagna. Garfield earned $14 million stateside, pushing its total domestic haul to $51.6 million. And it’s been doing almost double that business overseas. Add in its international grosses, and Garfield has earned nearly $152.3 million worldwide. Nothing Odie-ous about that.
Sure, prognosticators will point out that Garfield topped a pretty weak weekend, cinematically speaking. Varietysays that ticket sales were down 65% from the same three-day period last year. But I’d like to point out that the movies holding their own seem to be family friendly fare.
Case in point: IF, the PG film about down-and-out imaginary friends, climbed into second place this weekend, earning $10.8 million. That’s not a lot of money, but here’s the thing: Family movies tend to run longer and stay stronger. IF has now earned $80.4 million in North America (and $138 million worldwide), and it lost just a third of its weekend-over-weekend audience—a sign of strength in the here-today-gone-tomorrow world of entertainment. And while it has plenty of work ahead of it to turn a profit, IF is doing better than some of its peers.
Furiosa, I’m looking at you.
One week after claiming the box-office crown, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga slid to third place, according to early estimates. It collected $10,750,000, about $50,000 less than IF. That pushes its total domestic earnings to about $49.7 million—a sizable disappointment for this hyped Mad Max prequel. And given that it comes with an R rating—locking out families that might want to see the same film again and again—Furiosa’s pathway to profitability is narrower.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes finished fourth with $8.8 million, while The Fall Guy locked down No. 5 with $4.2 million.
What’s that? There’s not a single new movie in the top five, you say? Where did they all go?
Well, I’m glad you asked, dear reader. Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle is the first new release we can talk about here. It landed in seventh place with $3.5 million. (I’d insert a dumpster joke here, but honestly, $3.5 million probably isn’t too bad for an anime title.)
In a Violent Nature gutted out an eighth-place finish with $2.1 million, while Ezra—a sweet-but-problematic road movie—landed in ninth with $1.2 million. Summer Camp finished 11th with about $1.1 million, while Young Woman and the Sea—a very nice film with a very narrow release—finished 13th with $500,000.
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Since “Furiosa” got criticism for releasing on Memorial Day weekend (when a lot of families are spending time with their children instead of rushing to see movies like this, as someone else pointed out to me), I was curious about who would be the box-office winner, between that movie and Garfield, the weekend after that. This most certainly answers that; according to the numbers from Box Office Mojo, “Furiosa” seems to be heading toward settling for a third of what “Fury Road” made, especially with Bad Boys 4 (the previous movie had a budget of just over half “Furiosa’s” and won 2020’s domestic box office) and then Inside Out 2 coming up fast. Oof.
By the way, the Haikyuu movie already made $76 million USD overseas, which seems quite solid to me. I wouldn’t mind seeing more traditionally animated Western movies instead of just mostly CG films.
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Thanks for reviewing “Lunch” from Billie Eilish’s new “Hit Me Hard and Soft” album. I hadn’t heard about her being gay, but honestly when I originally heard the lyrics, I figured they were a perspective-shift reference to how a lot of un-Godly men and boys treated her. “Oh my gosh, that poor girl.” (I’ve been in more than one situation where I mentioned Billie Eilish to someone and the first thing out of their mouth is a lurid statement about her figure.)
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD: I saw “In a Violent Nature” in the theater yesterday with a couple of friends. Afterwards all three of us gave it 6 out of 10 stars. Yes, there were some imaginative kills, one of which we may have to name a whole new yoga position for. I thought the dialogue was horribly clichéd, but one of my friends suggested that may have been the point, as a homage to the cheesy slasher pics of yesteryear. The endless scenes of the killer tromping through the woods could have been shortened. And the final sequence with the old woman in the SUV? I have not idea where THAT was supposed to go. I’m glad I saw it, I don’t think it was a waste of money, but I’m a bit disappointed, and I’m surprised that the film currently clocks in at 85% at Rotten Tomatoes.
I know you guys are rarely able to watch every episode of a show, but please watch episode 3 of The Acolyte. The homosexual overtones aren’t light at ALL there. The series should not be viewed by anyone, especially children.