By Lindsey Bahr
Furiosa won the holiday box office over Garfield by a hair.
It was a close race, 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.
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.
Alec Baldwin Urges Judge To Stand By Dismissal Of Involuntary Manslaughter Case In “Rust” Shooting
Alec Baldwin urged a New Mexico judge on Friday to stand by her decision to skuttle his trial and dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie.
State District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case against Baldwin halfway through a trial in July based on the withholding of evidence by police and prosecutors from the defense in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
The charge against Baldwin was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it can't be revived once any appeals of the decision are exhausted.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey recently asked the judge to reconsider, arguing that there were insufficient facts and that Baldwin's due process rights had not been violated.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer on "Rust," was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal when it went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
The case-ending evidence was ammunition that was brought into the sheriff's office in March by a man who said it could be related to Hutchins' killing. Prosecutors said they deemed the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin's lawyers alleged that they "buried" it and filed a successful motion to dismiss the case.
In her decision to dismiss the Baldwin case, Marlowe Sommer described "egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct" by law enforcement and prosecutors, as well as false testimony about physical evidence by a witness during the trial.
Defense counsel says that prosecutors tried to establish a link... Read More