I saw Pitch Perfect 2 (budgeted at $29 million), I don’t think there’s any question the latter will be a success, but Mad Max is a different question.
Rated R and carrying a $150 million budget, Mad Max: Fury Road is so much different than the superhero blockbusters that have invaded our cinemas as of late it’s hard to determine just how interested or willing general audience members will be to try something new. I was pleasantly surprised by just how packed my screening was last night as we had to sit in the third row, though that didn’t stop prevent me from enjoying the hell out of George Miller‘s creation a second time. In fact, it had my wishing our local Cinerama was showing it so I could see a third time.
As for what these numbers mean, it’s expected Pitch Perfect 2 will possibly climb as high as $50 million, but Mad Max is a little less certain. For the sake of comparison, Kingsman: The Secret Service brought in $1.4 million from its Thursday previews earlier this year before going on to a $35 million weekend and last year the equally R-rated Lucy tallied $2.7 million on Thursday before enjoying a $43.8 million opening. So, it would seem to suggest Mad Max might be able to expect something similar with a swath of positive reviews accompanying its release. It’s not often a blockbuster of this size hits a 99% RottenTomatoes rating.
Elsewhere, Mad Max is debuting in 68 markets worldwide this weekend and has already grossed $3 million from France and Australia, $2.25 million of that from France where the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival only hours before hitting theaters.
