Hollywood suffers rough holiday weekend at box office

Moviemakers were dealt another blow at the box office over the Memorial Day weekend, as “Furiosa” became the latest big-budget film to underperform in theaters.

The “Mad Max” sequel, made by WarnerBros. Discovery, which analysts had predicted could provide the movie industry a needed jolt to begin the summer, pulled in just $26 million during its first three days in theaters, according to Comscore data.

That performance, which fell almost $7 million short of expectations, marked the worst Memorial Day weekend flop at the box office in more than 40 years, the New York Times reported, noting some analyst are predicting the much lower-budget “Garfield” movie could surpass “Furiosa.”

The “Furiosa” flop comes just weeks after Universal’s “Fall Guy,” experienced a similar underperformance in theaters, inspiring media business observers to warn it could be a rough summer for an industry still searching for its next blockbuster.

Hollywood has faced struggles for months, following a lengthy strike from writers and ripple effects of production delays stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, among other factors.

The industry is facing intensifying pressure to churn out hits given a sustained push by streamers like Netflix and Amazon, which have poured billions into at-home entertainment offerings, tightening their grip on the moviemaking business.