When I got to the theater, I was surprised to find... that the spots that were available the day before were... still available. It was not a packed theater. This was Saturday, the day after Furiosa was released and the IMAX theater was maybe half-full.
"Furiosa" has underperformed in the box office so far this weekend and by all accounts it's going to be a flop despite rave reviews. It's a fucking great movie. I loved it as much as I loved "Fury Road" and I thought that'd be an impossible task. For me, it did a great job of world building without getting weighed down too much in it. There was more dialogue in Furiosa than in Fury Road, but there were still stretches of awesome action in the middle of the desert.
It's supremely well-made, the lead actors are brilliant, it's visually stimulated and consistently gripping. Looking back, "Fury Road" didn't exactly blow the doors off at the box office. It made around $380 million worldwide and it was reported that the film lost about $20-40 million. But, things are looking even bleaker this time around with a $31 million opening.
I saw some chatter online why anyone would even bother funding this movie and the people wondering that clearly didn't see it... which isn't surprising cause a lot of people didn't see it! Yes, it's a sequel/prequel to an existing franchise, but goddamnit it's fantastic. George Miller is a legend.
I think I love these Mad Max movies so much is that they're so visual, they're so cinematic. They're made for the movie theater. It doesn't get too caught up in exposition. George Miller is able to tell the story of this world and its characters through the visuals. And somehow finds new and interesting ways to make enthralling action sequences involving fast-moving vehicles. The Mad Max movies have a bit of a whacky sense of humor without being silly. Some of these characters are absolutely psychotic. In order to be a protagonist in this world, you have to be tough as nails. So many people die in these movies that I genuinely worry for the lead character (Furiosa, in this movie) because of how ruthless everything else in this movie is. Of course Furiosa can't die in this movie, it's a prequel, but damn... the movie certainly puts her in a lot of convincingly near-death situations.
I kinda do think movies are dying, especially if there are people questioning whether a movie like Furiosa should even exist. I just wonder if, down the line, Hollywood will just stop making these big budget movies for theaters in favor of solely Marvel and DC type stuff. I really worry that's all we'll be left with. Oh, and maybe Christopher Nolan's next movie.
People's attentions are too divided, people have a lot of different ways to entertain themselves. I don't know what it'll take to make people want to go see movies again. Personally, I just don't find any enjoyment in exclusively watching movies at home. I like the "appointment viewing" of going to the theater. Putting myself in a location where all I can do is watch the movie. There are so many movies I ended up not seeing since 2020 because my only option was to watch it on TV and movies just don't hold my attention as much on TV. And I don't think I'm alone in that regard.
It certainly feels like we're on shaky ground. I'm getting kind of fed up with the abundance of content and media there are to consume. Aren't you tired of scrolling on your phone? I mean, I still do it. Goddamnit, I am so part of the problem. Ugh.
I don't know though. I'm able to get my son to come to movies with me and when we're home, he's always wanted to be on the phone or play video games. But he seems to respect the cinema as a place to ONLY watch a movie and nothing else. Maybe that'll change in the future. I don't know if he'll grow up to be the kinda cinephile I was at my peak, but I do feel like it's my responsibility to make sure my kids at least acknowledge the existence of movies. Try to make them watch all the essential ones and go to new exciting ones in theaters.
You know, for so long, I wanted to make movies myself. I think what I wanted was to do something where I'd be remembered long after I'm gone. Maybe if I had a nice filmography, I would never truly die. That was my thinking. But, when the Gen Zs and Gen Alphas grow up, will figures like Akira Kurosawa or Stanley Kubrick mean anything to them? Is becoming a filmmaker even a worthwhile venture at this point? What's the point of making movies these days? Unless you happen to be making one of those rare big budget projects, your film will likely land on a streaming service and be forgotten. I wish I could've told 2004 me about this, maybe I would've considered majoring in something that would actually help me get a better paying job.
