George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, has not been performing very well in theaters since it went on release last Friday, and unless there's a drastic improvement in box office takings, this could spell doom for the legendary filmmaker's plans for a follow-up.
Furiosa took in a disappointing $35 million domestically for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, and amassed an only slightly better $40 million overseas for a running global total of $75 million.
The movie opens in Greece and Japan this week, before releasing in China on June 7.
It is worth noting that Fury Road was by no means a box office smash, either, but the movie's popularity and Academy Awards attention is believed to have factored into Warner Bros.' decision to greenlight Miller's prequel - and they may not be quite so quick to do the same if Furiosa doesn't get a high-octane boost of box office guzzoleen over the next few weeks.
Miller and Nico Lathouris have already co-written a script for Mad Max: The Wasteland, which follows the titular anti-hero in the year leading up to Fury Road. However, Miller has previously acknowledged that him getting the opportunity to move forward with this next movie would likely hinge on Furiosa's success.
“I’ll definitely wait to see how this [Furiosa] goes, before we even think about it.”
We're not sounding the death knell for the franchise just yet, but analysts (via THR) do seem to feel that another Max adventure will be a long shot unless Furiosa manages to turn this around at the box office.
Have you been to see Furiosa yet? If so, what did you think? Drop us a comment down below.
"As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus," reads the movie's synopsis. "Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home."
Miller penned the script with Fury Road co-writer Nico Lathouris. The director's behind-the-scenes creative team includes first assistant director PJ Voeten and second unit director and stunt coordinator Guy Norris, director of photography Simon Duggan (Hacksaw Ridge, The Great Gatsby), composer Tom Holkenborg, sound designer Robert Mackenzie, editor Eliot Knapman, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson and colorist Eric Whipp.
The team also includes other longtime collaborators: production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, costume designer Jenny Beavan and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, each of whom won an Oscar for their work on Mad Max: Fury Road.