The Box Office Crisis, a ‘Furiosa’ Deep Dive, and the 'Mad Max' Movie Rankings

The box office crisisSean, solo, on the worst Memorial Day since 1995

The Garfield Movie 2024

The weekend's other wide release; the two new films combined for about $62M over four days.

The Fall Guy 2024

$145M worldwide on a reported $140M budget, headed to VOD 17 days after opening. Sean's case study for shrinking windows.

Hit Man 2024

The Linklater/Glen Powell crowd-pleaser no studio would buy; Netflix paid about $20M and it lands on streaming instead of the theater it was built for.

Civil War 2024

Crossed $100M, close to a miracle for A24.

Challengers 2024

Past $80M despite already being available at home.

Dune: Part Two 2024

$700M worldwide, the counterexample to the doom.

Anyone but You 2023

The recent mini-phenomenon with young moviegoers.

Anora 2024

Sean Baker's Palme d'Or winner, the first American film to take it since The Tree of Life, reportedly an homage to Pretty Woman.

A 'Furiosa' deep divewith Chris Ryan and Joanna Robinson, full spoilers

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 2024

All three like it, none love it. Praise for the war-rig chase and the Bulltown ambush; complaints about a missing arc for Furiosa, the skipped 40-day war, and Dementus (Chris Hemsworth's nose splitting the room).

The Mad Max movie rankingsSean and Chris's consensus order, best to worst

No. 1

Mad Max: Fury Road 2015

No. 1 and not close. Sean compares it to Lawrence of Arabia; no one would trade it for three more Mel Gibson sequels.

No. 2

Mad Max 2 1981

The Road Warrior. Joanna's No. 1 and the group's clear runner-up, the grimy outback original everyone remembers.

No. 3

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 2024

No. 3 for Sean and Chris; Chris actually slots it below Thunderdome as a 'born in the '70s' call.

No. 4

Mad Max 1979

The raw, Straw Dogs-dark black-and-white sketch of everything that followed. Admired, rarely rewatched.

No. 5

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome 1985

Last. Half of it works (Bartertown, trial by combat); the kids sink the rest.

Also mentioned raised along the way

The box-office case Sean makes CasperSpeedTop Gun: MaverickA Quiet Place Part IIThe Little MermaidFast & Furious 6The Hangover Part IIIEpic

Barbenheimer and the exceptions BarbieOppenheimerGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Prequels nobody asked for Solo: A Star Wars StoryLightyearWonka

Streaming flattens everything The Lion KingThe Lion King II: Simba's PrideWishDiary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever

Small grosses, big podcasts The Banshees of InisherinTárEvil Does Not ExistI Saw the TV Glow

The summer slate that might save it Inside Out 2Despicable Me 4Deadpool & WolverineJoker: Folie à DeuxWickedMoana 2Sonic the Hedgehog 3Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Cannes 2024 MegalopolisKinds of KindnessOh, CanadaThe SubstanceThe ShroudsBird

Looking to 2025 F1Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

George Miller, elsewhere Three Thousand Years of LongingThe Witches of EastwickLorenzo's OilHappy FeetHappy Feet TwoBabeContact

Casting and comps in the Furiosa talk Bad Times at the El RoyaleThorThe SouvenirMankMaestroPrometheus

Prequels and Star Wars Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryStar WarsStar Wars: The Last JediStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Scale and greatness comps Lawrence of ArabiaGladiatorJurassic Park

Chris's franchise game AlienJawsThe ExorcistStraw Dogs

Tangents BattleshipThe InterpreterThe FabelmansThe Big ShortThe LodgeLittle WomenKingdom of the Planet of the ApesDivergentThe Maze RunnerPretty Woman

Quoted, not screened Jerry MaguirePulp Fiction

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV FelicityAndorThe Queen's GambitOzarkMayor of KingstownGame of ThronesKnight Rider

Podcasts Dear FelicityHouse of RTrial by Content

Books Blood, Sweat & ChromeFire & Blood

Video games The Legend of Zelda