Exploring Furiosa’s Poor Box Office Reception: What Hollywood Can Learn!

INTRODUCTION

Before filming Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), George Miller had a secret: a complete script detailing Furiosa’s journey from childhood captivity to becoming Furiosa. He said, “To truly tell Fury Road, we had to uncover Furiosa’s mysterious past. We created a full screenplay with vivid concept art and shared it with the cast and crew long before filming began.”

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) is an action film directed and produced by George Miller and co-written with Nico Lathouris. As the fifth installment in the Mad Max franchise, it serves as a prequel and spin-off to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), focusing on the character Imperator Furiosa. Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne play younger versions of Furiosa, with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke in supporting roles.

The film was released in theaters in Australia on May 23, 2024, and in the United States the following day. It has a runtime of approximately two hours and is rated R for strong violence and grisly images.

WHAT IS FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (2024) ABOUT? SYNOPSIS/PLOT 

In the desolate wasteland of post-apocalyptic Australia, life seemed to exist in the Green Place—a haven of fresh water and green pastures. But this peace is shattered for young Furiosa when a ruthless biker gang, led by Dementus, invades the paradise. Furiosa’s world is ripped apart as she is taken, leaving behind a life of peace and happiness for a brutal existence on the open road.

Furiosa’s fiery spirit refuses to be broken. Witnessing the tragic torture and death of her mother only strengthens her resolve for vengeance and a return to her home. Dementus takes Furiosa under his wing, hoping she’ll lead him to the Green Place. Little does he know, Furiosa is playing her own game, hiding a secret star chart on her arm—a map to guide her back to freedom.

Their journey takes them to the Citadel, another bastion of power ruled by the tyrannical Immortan Joe, who controls the lifeblood of the wasteland—water and gasoline. Dementus’s challenge for dominance fails, but he secures Furiosa as part of a twisted deal. Furiosa is imprisoned with Immortan Joe’s “wives.” Refusing to be a pawn, Furiosa devises an escape plan.

To survive this cutthroat world, Furiosa disguises herself as a mute boy and vanishes into the Citadel. Years pass, and Furiosa rises through the ranks, her skills honed into a weapon. She even plays a role in building the monstrous War Rig, a gasoline-guzzling behemoth designed to dominate the wasteland. An opportunity arises when she attempts to hijack the War Rig, a desperate bid for freedom. Though foiled by Praetorian Jack, another high-ranking warrior, Furiosa strikes a deal. She’ll help him rebuild his crew, and together, they’ll carve their path out of the Citadel’s iron grip. This is just the beginning of Furiosa’s big plan.

MY THOUGHTS ON FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (2024) 

I had to watch this twice just to come up with this review. After the first watch, the movie was just too complicated because of the excessive characters and similar outfits, which made it difficult to keep track of everything.

I wanted to love Furiosa, but I only ended up liking it. Compared to Fury Road, Furiosa falls short. It’s entertaining but doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Similar to The Fall Guy, this film is action-packed. It stays true to the Mad Max legacy with hot rods, big wheels, bikes, and lots of violence. However, its repetitiveness and predictability make the action scenes less exciting and thrilling. Despite staying true to the Mad Max spirit with its brutality, Furiosa ultimately didn’t meet my expectations.

CHARACTER PERFORMANCE 

Talking about characters, I’ll start with Furiosa, who is first played by Alyla Browne. Alyla Browne gets a lot more screen time than child versions of pre-established characters usually get, with next to no dialogue. She is superb at communicating everything with just her facial expressions and body movements.

Anya Taylor-Joy replaces the little Furiosa and does a phenomenal job. If you need someone to act exclusively with their eyes, Anya is as perfect as they come.

Chris Hemsworth relishes the opportunity to play a properly mad villain with Dementus and has many chill-inducing moments. Just putting it out there, I did not even realize it was him at first because of how good the makeup and costume was. Dementus is a great villain, a sort of love child of Immortan Joe and The Humungus.

VISUAL DESIGN AND CINEMATOGRAPHY 

Visually, Furiosa is a bit of a mixed bag; sometimes we get stuff worthy of its predecessor and other times we get stuff that is… less so. The color is much paler, and the cinematography is nowhere near the standards set by Fury Road. Occasionally, the CGI lets the film down just a bit. In Fury Road, you got the impression that it was almost all practical effects even if it wasn’t. In Furiosa, there are sequences where I asked myself if the director watched the film before its release, as the standards of the film dropped.

The music is often lacking. The sweeping epics of Fury Road are almost gone; instead, we get much more background stuff or even, sadly, largely silent action sequences. This leads to a lack of tension—nothing edge-of-your-seat here.

WRITING STYLE AND STORY 

The writing is okay, but not great. The ideas are good, but the execution and editing aren’t. The characters lack spark, and bits feel missing. It feels sometimes like Miller is trying to tell a story but seems unsure of how to write characters in which one can invest. The film jumps at times, skipping over character development worthy of exploration. Towards the end of the film, it became slow-paced, a little bit boring, and dragged on. I was waiting for the movie to just end.

THEMES 

Furiosa offers a compelling story of resilience, rebellion, and redemption but failed to ignite box office fireworks. This silent reception, despite its connection to a popular franchise, warrants a closer look to understand what went wrong and what Hollywood can learn from this misstep.

• One potential factor might be due to audience fatigue with prequel films. Hollywood’s reliance on established franchises can lead to oversaturation, causing viewers to lose interest in revisiting familiar stories.
• “Furiosa,” while its storyline might not be terrible, this is definitely not enough novelty to compel viewers who felt they had already seen a similar story.
• Another possibility is that the film’s marketing strategy failed to capture the imagination of potential viewers. Perhaps the trailers did not effectively convey the unique aspects of “Furiosa” or its connection to the “Mad Max” universe.
• Additionally, “Furiosa” lacked a lot from its predecessor. “Fury Road” captivated audiences with its innovative visuals, breakneck pacing, and feminist themes.
• The casting of Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger Imperator Furiosa, a role originated by Charlize Theron, might also have been a hurdle. While Taylor-Joy is a talented actress, audiences might have been hesitant to embrace a new performer in such a well-established role.

Hollywood can learn valuable lessons from “Furiosa’s” box office blues. Overreliance on franchises and the challenge of crafting sequels that offer fresh experiences are important considerations.

Investing in innovative marketing campaigns and carefully chosen casting are also essential for a film’s success.

By understanding the reasons behind “Furiosa’s” underwhelming performance, Hollywood can better navigate the challenges of creating blockbuster films in an increasingly competitive market.

AUDIENCE COMMENT

CONCLUSION 

Overall, I did like it. Furiosa is a good Mad Max film, but it’s no Fury Road. I’d be surprised if the film is recognized at Oscar time.

Although the movie successfully conveys the themes it aims to explore, it falls flat narratively due to its incredible repetitiveness and predictability.

Where Fury Road won six, Furiosa might get a nomination or two in the technical categories but no nominations for Directing or Best Picture.

People also watch – Prey (2022).

Images or videos used in this work belongs to the respective movie and its copyright holders. We do not claim any legal rights or ownership over this image, and we appreciate the movie’s creators for sharing such a captivating visual.

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