The Barbenheimer phenomenon of 2023 is not something that can easier be replicated, because it was a perfect storm of chaos and destruction all wrapped in a pretty pink bow. But, in theory, you can apply the same logic to a big-budget action movie and a flick about an animated cat who lives lasagna, and maybe you can gain some of that magical marketing mojo?!?! Maybe not, but we will have to see.
The upcoming Mad Max prequel Furiosa will tumble into theaters on May 24th, the same day as a certain orange fluff ball voiced by Chris Pratt.
After the underwhelming box office debut for The Fall Guy, Deadline is reporting that box office prognosticators are hoping that the May box office gets a boost from the two flicks. Early projections have the dystopian action film debuting with $40-$50 million, while Garfield is aiming for close to $35 million.
The two demographics are obviously very different, but we’ve seen this before! Could that Barbenheimer magic translate to 2024? Probably…not. But we shouldn’t put that much pressure on a cat anyway.
Garfield follows the titular feline as he finds his long-lost father Vic and joins him on a cat heist. Furiosa follows the titular heroine as she tries to reunite with her own family after being kidnapped. It’s fun for the whole family! As long as you are not estranged. Garfuriosa is a go!
Oh man #Garfuriosa is happening https://t.co/Zsdj9qpTIs
— Brian Lynch (@BrianLynch) May 6, 2024
The biggest Memorial Weekend box office was 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, which single-handedly saved movies. Maybe if Tom Cruise had been chosen as the voice of Garfield we could have seen another monumental movie moment. Instead, we just got Mario.