Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was one of the better movies of 2024, continuing an impressive Mad Max trend, even despite its disappointing profits. Following Tom Hardy’s epic 2015 movie, Mad Max: Fury Road, the Furiosa-led 2024 picture offered neither Tom Hardy as a lead nor a chronological sequel. Instead, Anya Taylor-Joy played the protagonist in a prequel movie. Furiosa’s disappointing box office may delay Mad Max: The Wasteland – the franchise’s planned next venture – but it still stands up well on its own in franchise history, with some notable figures behind it.
The movie saw Chris Hemsworth added to Mad Max as the iconic Dementus, setting a new standard for Mad Max villains. Created by George Miller, master of the franchise since day one, it was hard not to love Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in a good many ways. The Mad Max timeline placed Furiosa in a divisive place, as many people were keen to see the development of Tom Hardy’s Max Rockatansky. Nonetheless, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga continued the formidable critical trend shown by Mad Max movies since their first outing.
Furiosa’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Continued Mad Max’s Impressive Critical Reception Trend
The 2024 Mad Max Movie Didn’t Ruin Mad Max’s Rotten Tomatoes Streak
All Mad Max movies were critically acclaimed, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is no different. Anya Taylor-Joy was outstanding in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, as the movie’s critical reception confirmed. Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth’s chemistry as a hero-villain duo was palpable, which critics lauded alongside the movie’s brilliant sets and vehicles. With 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, Furiosa demonstrates an incredibly fair evolution of Fury Road, which has 97%. In fact, the very first Mad Max movie ever, released in 1979, achieved the same score as Furiosa. Mel Gibson led proceedings as Max in this groundbreaking action movie.
Why Furiosa Flopped At The Box Office (When It’s One Of The Best Mad Max Movies)
Furiosa Didn’t Get The Commercial Response It Deserved
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga missed out on commercial success it should have received because of cinema’s decline in the wake of COVID-19, combined with its risky decisions. Prequels haven’t performed as well in recent years as they used to. Star Wars: A Phantom Menace started a prequel trend in fantasy and sci-fi over the years, despite scorn after first being released. However, prequels and spinoffs are a risky premise. Removing Max Rockatanasky as the main character of the popular franchise storyline probably didn’t encourage viewers to the cinema either.
|
Mad Max Movie |
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
|---|---|
|
Mad Max |
90% |
|
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior |
93% |
|
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome |
85% |
|
Mad Max: Fury Road |
93% |
|
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga |
90% |
Among the many reasons Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga didn’t succeed commercially was the compeтιтion it faced. In a tough environment following worldwide economic hardship, the movie had to compete with the vastly commercial Garfield opening at the same time. Being released on VOD not long after its theatrical release also didn’t help Furiosa succeed at the box office, as plenty of financially stretched would-be cinema-goers opted instead to wait until it could be viewed at home. The challenging release strategy of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga points to an alternative route being best for Mad Max 6.
