In a disappointing weekend for the summer box office, Warner Bros.' high-octane prequel "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" and Sony's animated film "The Garfield Movie" battled it out for the top spot over Memorial Day weekend. Both films generated approximately $25 million over the weekend, with an estimated $31 million through Monday. Despite claiming victory, it was reported that whichever film emerged as the winner, it marked the worst Memorial Day opening weekend in nearly three decades.

The lackluster performance continued a trend of underwhelming releases for movie theaters, with recent blockbusters like "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" debuting with a decent $58 million, and disappointments such as "The Fall Guy" with a $27 million debut, and "IF" with a $33 million debut. The absence of a film to ignite enthusiasm among moviegoers has resulted in overall ticket sales lagging behind last year by 22% and a concerning 41% behind 2019, according to Comscore.

Comparisons to the same holiday weekend in 2023 are difficult, with a 36% decrease, largely due to Disney's "The Little Mermaid" remake dominating with an impressive $118 million.

"Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" had high expectations heading into the weekend, looking to earn $40 million to $45 million domestically. However, it fell short of its predecessor, 2015's "Max Max: Fury Road," which grossed $45 million over three days and a total of $380 million worldwide. Despite receiving positive feedback from critics and audiences, analysts believe that "Furiosa" missed the mark with box office success due to limited appeal beyond its core demographic of older male moviegoers. Additionally, prequels often struggle to generate interest as audiences are familiar with how the story progresses.

On the other hand, "The Garfield Movie" received mixed reviews, holding a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences seemed to enjoy the animated film, which featured the voices of Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson. It garnered a "B+" CinemaScore and scored points for its relatively lower production budget of $60 million. The film has already generated $66.3 million overseas, accumulating a worldwide total of $91.1 million.

Meanwhile, Angel Studio's faith-based biographical drama "Sight" debuted to lackluster ticket sales, earning $2.9 million over the weekend and an estimated $3.6 million through Monday. Despite receiving a positive "A" CinemaScore, it failed to replicate the success of Angel Studios' previous release, "Sound of Freedom," which was a sleeper hit last summer.

Paramount's "IF," a fantasy-comedy directed by John Krasinski and starring Ryan Reynolds, dropped to third place after topping the box office last weekend. It added $16.1 million over the weekend and an estimated $21 million through Monday, bringing its domestic total to $63.5 million and worldwide earnings to $103 million. With a production budget of $110 million, the film relies on sustained popularity throughout the summer to justify its cost.

In fourth place, "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" collected $13.4 million over the weekend and an estimated $17.1 million through Monday. Thus far, the film has grossed $126 million domestically and $294 million worldwide, trailing behind the previous entries in the franchise, which achieved higher box office successes.

Rounding out the top five, Universal's "The Fall Guy," an action-comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, earned $5.9 million over the weekend and an estimated $7.6 million through Monday. However, with a budget of $140 million, the film's performance has been lackluster, with just $73.8 million in North America and $143 million worldwide after four weekends in theaters.

Overall, Memorial Day weekend delivered a lackluster performance at the box office, marking a concerning trend for the summer season. The industry now pins its hopes on upcoming releases like "Deadpool & Wolverine," "Despicable Me 4," and "Inside Out 2" to reignite the enthusiasm of moviegoers.