“The Garfield Movie” clawed its way to first place, overtaking last weekend’s champion “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” at the domestic box office. This weekend (unlike last) wasn’t a nail-biter as “Garfield” effortlessly pulled ahead with $14 million from 4,108 theaters in its second weekend of release, while “Furiosa” trailed in third place with $10.7 million from 3,864 venues in its sophomore outing. Now, Sony’s “The Garfield Movie” has grossed $51.5 million in North America and $152 million globally to date. It’s a solid showing for the $60 million-budgeted film. “Furiosa,” the fifth entry in Warner Bros. and director George Miller’s post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” series, has generated $49.6 million domestically and $114 million worldwide. With a $168 million price tag, the R-rated tentpole has a much steeper path to profitability.
Though “Garfield” gets first-place bragging rights, it’s another terrible weekend at the box office with ticket sales a staggering 65% behind the same three-day period in 2023. As a result, overall revenues remain 24% behind last year and more than 40% below pre-pandemic times. In other words, Hollywood and movie theaters desperately need some hits on the horizon to help shrink the gap. David A. Gross of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research believes that last year’s dual labor strikes are responsible for this year’s summer woes. Plenty of big movies were pushed to 2025 and beyond as Hollywood effectively shut down for months.
“This weekend is another example of a lineup disrupted by the pandemic and labor strikes. It takes 18 to 24 months to plan, produce and market the biggest movies, so it’s going to take another year to get past this inconsistency,” he says. “There is no way around it.”
Without a major new release to invigorate the box office, holdover titles — such as Paramount’s fantasy comedy “IF” and Disney’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” — rounded out box office charts. “IF,” a kids film directed by John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds, rose to second place with $10.8 million from 3,783 venues — ever so slightly ahead of “Furiosa.” After three weekends of release, “IF” has generated $80.4 million domestically and $138 million worldwide. The studio spent $110 million to make and many millions more to market, so the movie is counting on strong staying power through the summer to justify its budget.
At No. 4, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” collected $8.8 million from 3,450 theaters in its fourth outing. So far, the fourth chapter in the “Apes” reboot franchise has earned $140 million in North America and $337 globally. It’s currently the fourth-highest-grossing movie of the year, but its ticket sales aren’t close to reaching the lofty heights of its series predecessors: 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” ($481 million), 2017’s “War for the Planet of the Apes” ($490 million) and 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” ($710 million). The newest entry carries a hefty $160 million price tag, so “Kingdom” is decently positioned in its theatrical run but needs to keep playing on the big screen to get into the black.
Universal’s action-comedy “The Fall Guy,” starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, rounded out the top five with $4.2 million from 2,826 theaters in its fifth weekend of release. The PG-13 ode to stunt performers has generated $80.2 million domestically and $157 million worldwide to date. However, “The Fall Guy” cost $140 million to produce (and theater owners get to keep about 50% of ticket sales) so the film hasn’t quite recovered from its disappointing debut in May.
Elsewhere, Sony/Crunchyroll’s manga adaptation “Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle” was one of several arthouse titles that debuted in fewer theaters than the traditional nationwide offering. It opened in sixth place with a so-so $3.5 million from 1,119 venues. Though anime has developed a devoted following at the domestic box office, these movies are bigger draws overseas, where “Haikyuu” has earned $75 million.
Another newcomer, IFC’s gory slasher “In a Violent Nature,” landed at No. 8 with $2.1 million from 1,426 locations. Chris Nash wrote and directed the well-reviewed film, observed from the perspective of a killer who targets a rowdy group of teenagers in the Canadian wilderness. This marks the second-biggest box office debut for IFC Films following this March’s “Late Night With the Devil” ($2.8 million).
In ninth place, Bleaker Street’s “Ezra,” a family comedy starring Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, collected just $1.18 million from 1,320 theaters. Critics have been mixed on the movie, which follows a divorced stand-up comedian (Cannavale) who embarks on a road trip with his autistic son.
