‘Garfield’ leads global box office with $41m session, knocks ‘Furiosa’ off top spot

Worldwide box office May 31-June 2

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

China, Australia, Poland openings boost ‘The Garfield Movie’

Having begun rollout it its first markets on May 1, the fifth week of global release for Columbia Pictures/Alcon Entertainment’s The Garfield Movie sees the film top the global box office for the first time.

Arrival in China, Poland, Australia and Indonesia helped boost the film to an estimated $41.0m global session – the biggest weekend number yet for the Sony release. The estimate is $27.0m for international markets, and $14.0m for domestic North America. Totals to date are $100.6m for international, $51.6m for North America, and $152.2m worldwide.

The Garfield Movie landed in China on Saturday June 1, grossing an estimated $8.2m in two days via China Film Group and Alibaba Pictures.

Poland saw an estimated $2.4m launch, while in Australia and Indonesia the weekend estimates came in at $2.0m and $700,000 respectively.

In holdover markets, Germany saw box office rise 131% to an estimated $2.1m – with The Garfield Movie topping the box office in its fourth weekend of play, and reaching a total of $7.6m. UK/Ireland, which is wrapping up a week-long holiday at most schools, saw box office decline a slim 8%, and the total there after 10 days (plus previews) is $8.1m.

Mexico still leads international markets overall, with $19.0m after five weeks of play. Upcoming key markets are France (July 31) and Japan (August 16).

The Garfield Movie is now 75% of the way to matching the $203.2m worldwide total achieved by live-action comedy Garfield: The Movie in 2004 – although that comparison is not adjusted for inflation.

International holds firmer as ‘Furiosa’ takes big tumble in North America

Warner Bros’ Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga saw a big drop at the North American box office in its second session, declining 59% with an estimated $10.8m, and tumbling from first to third place in the domestic chart, below both The Garfield Movie and IF.

In international markets, George Miller’s film fared better, declining 38% in holdover markets, with estimated weekend takings of $21.0m. Totals so far are $49.7m for North America, $64.7m for international, and $114.4m worldwide.

South Korea saw a relatively mild 30% drop, with Furiosa remaining at the top spot – resisting the challenge of local new release The Plot landing in second place – and with estimated takings of $3.0m taking the total to $8.2m. Among other holdover markets, France added an estimated $1.7m, ahead of both Australia ($1.5m) and UK/Ireland ($1.3m). Cumulative totals in those three markets are respectively $4.9m, $4.4m and $5.8m. Other top markets so far are Mexico ($4.5m), Brazil ($3.0m) and Germany ($2.9m).

Total so far on Imax is $18.0m globally – more than 16% of the film’s box office total across all cinemas.

Furiosa is chasing the $379.4m achieved globally by Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. The film should achieve another boost this Friday (June 7) when it lands in China.

French comedy ‘A Little Something Extra’ nears $50m total

Pan Distribution’s French comedy A Little Something Extra (aka Un P’tit Truc En Plus) is continuing its barnstorming run in France, posting an estimated $8.05m for its fifth weekend of play – its biggest weekend tally so far. The film has topped the French box office for five weeks in a row, and total is now a towering $49.1m.

Going into the weekend, this debut feature from comedian Artus had already racked up 4.6 million admissions in France, making it the biggest hit of 2024, ahead of Dune: Part Two on 4.1 million. Past roles for Artus include in French TV series The Bureau, and he was most recently on the big screen in Bernadette, Léa Domenach’s film about Madame Chirac starring Catherine Deneuve (810,000 admissions in France). Artus directs and co-writes A Little Something Extra and also stars in the comedy about a father and son seeking refuge from the police at a summer camp for young adults with disabilities – posing as a resident and his educator.

China release lands anime ‘Doraemon’ in global top five

Japanese anime Doraemon The Movie: Nobita’s Earth Symphony lands in fifth place in the global box office chart – below The Garfield Movie, Furiosa, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes and IF – thanks to its arrival in China on Friday (May 31). This latest film adapted from Fujiko F Fujio’s long-running manga series grossed an estimated $12.3m in China. Total including Toho’s Japan release, which began on March 1, is $40.5m, according to Comscore.

Previously 3D computer animations Stand By Me Doraemon (2014) and Stand By Me Doraemon 2 respectively grossed $183.4m and $65.2m worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Nobita’s Earth Symphony is the 43^rd in the regular series of Doraemon films, which began in 1980, and most recently saw Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia (2023) gross $37.5m.

A place below Nobita’s Earth Symphony in the worldwide chart for the weekend is fellow Japanese anime Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle. Crunchyroll released the film in the US at the weekend, achieving an estimated $3.5m, and the weekend total was $8.0m in 38 Crunchyroll/Sony markets including North America, and $9.0m globally. Worldwide cumulative total for the adaptation of the Haruichi Furudate manga is $95.1m, including Toho’s Japan release which began in February.

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