Miller’s latest–and possibly last after disappointing box-office–chapter of the Wasteland is companion piece to Fury Road, deepening the relationships and themes in that chapter.
As prequel, the fates of some characters are already determined. But the narrative is more than about who lives or dies, or even how Furiosa loses her arm. It’s an essential piece within Miller’s franchise that shades in the map of this world and creates parallel arcs that reflect on Max, who he is and what he might have become had the world turned in a slightly different direction.
The film charts the saga of young Furiosa, stolen from the Green Place as a child only to eventually rise up to become the greatest warrior of the Wasteland.
The character, portrayed by Theron in Fury Road, is played here by Alyla Browne as a child and Taylor-Joy as a young woman.
Both actors put their stamp on the character while still honoring the character launched by Theron.
The film is divided into five chapters that cover the key events and turning points in Furiosa’s young life.
She has contends with her kidnapper, the crazed warlord Dementus (Hemsworth), and his war against the Citadel and its leader, Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).
Furiosa has to learn how to be a road warrior from Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke). A ferocity is shared between Browne and Taylor-Joy’s performance, an outward rage that contrasts Theron’s simmering rage.
Furiosa is markedly different from Fury Road–it’s a quieter, less adrenaline-fueled affair, more akin to Miller’s first two Mad Max films. Yet, it’s still fueled by some striking action and stunts.
Forty-five years after he introduced audiences to Max Max, George Miller may have finally hit the end of the road through the postapocalyptic wasteland.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga bowed to a disappointing $32 million domestically for the four-day Memorial Day weekend and $36.5 million overseas, diminishing hopes for Mad Max: The Wasteland, another Max installment Miller has been toying with for years.
Miller and Nico Lathouris wrote the scripts for both The Wasteland and Furiosa as part of the process of Mad Max: Fury Road, the 2015 Warner film that became a surprise awards season juggernaut, winning 6 Oscars, and which became an instant action classic.
The Wasteland would follow Max Rockatansky in the year before Fury Road, and is said to involve young mother — and include plenty of action.
On Fury Road’s opening weekend, the split was 60 percent male to 40 percent, according to sources with access to exit surveys conducted by PostTrak. But Furiosa’s audience was 71 percent male and 29 percent female, a worrisome decline and a startling number for a feature marketed as a female-driven vehicle.
Younger Viewers Stayed way from Furiosa
The 18-24 age group, who are the most frequent moviegoers, plummeted from 31 percent for Fury Road to 21 percent for Furiosa.
Male Driven Franchise
“IP like Mad Max and Ghostbusters is old, and they have the fans they’re going to have,” says one theater chain executive. “If studios can budget to that, they might make some decent money.”
Talk of making Miller’s next Mad Max film could resurface if Furiosa gets a major tune up and enjoys a road trip down the box office highway, as Fury Road did thanks to a strong multiplier. But many veteran box office pundits are doubtful whether such a recovery is possible, with one rival studio saying it could have a hard time getting past $90 million domestically.
Theron said that she was sad not to return, despite her grueling experience shooting the first one.
Instead, Miller cast Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger version of Theron’s titular character and added Chris Hemsworth as a warlord. Furiosa is also a Mad Max movie without Mad Max (save for a small cameo).
“I think Furiosa suffered without Charlize. People who see the movie love it. The problem is getting them into theaters. She would have been able to do that,” says one studio insider.
Furiosa caps a May that will go down in infamy in box office lore. Due to the strikes, mega-tentpoles that have come to define summer were delayed, prompting moviegoing overall to plummet and theater chains hoping for a better 2025 (“Just survive til ’25” has become a mantra for studios and theater owners). Miller’s film was never intended to be an all-audience tentpole that anchors Memorial Day — last year, The Little Mermaid debuted to $118 million — but like other recent titles, it still came in well behind tracking predictions of $40 to $45 million.
Wall Street and Hollywood knew this year was going to be tough, and say declarations that theatrical is over are overblown.
