Although the Mad Max films were somewhat hampered by Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagapoor box office performance, The road warrior could be the key to the future of the franchise. THE Mad Max The franchise's timeline has always been difficult to follow, but the latest installment in the series has done nothing to make things easier. According to Furiosa: a Mad Max Saga, the prequel takes place 45 years after the apocalypse. However, 1979 Mad Max takes place before the end of the world off-screen, which makes it difficult to understand how Max isn't nearly 60 years old for Fury Road.
Of course, Furiosa: A Mad Max SagaThe poor box office performance can hardly be attributed to this kind of minor plot hole in the canon. Spectators arrive Mad Max high-octane action films, director George Miller's uniquely dark vision of the future, and memorably bizarre characters like Bullet Farmer and Sprog. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga It undeniably offered plenty of eccentric heroes and villains, hard-hitting action sequences, and nightmarish visions of a dark future, but the prequel's failure isn't too surprising considering it's an issue. Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagabudget and Mad Maxthe price couldn't be more different.
Each Mad Max film has cost more than the last since The Road Warrior
The Road Warrior began gradual budget increases for the Mad Max franchise
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga cost a staggering $168 millionwhich represented a considerable leap compared to Fury Roadit's US$150 million. This, in turn, represented a massive increase over the 1985 budget. Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdomewhich cost just US$10 million. To be fair, inflation plays a role, but this budget would still only amount to about $29 million in 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics'inflation calculator. If the five-fold increase between Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and Fury Road seems high, it is worth noting that Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome'The budget vastly exceeded its predecessor.
|
Performance of the Mad Max franchise |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Title |
Year |
Approximate Budget |
Box office |
Rotten tomatoes |
|
Mad Max |
1979 |
$200,000 |
US$100 million |
90% |
|
Mad Max: The Road Warrior |
1981 |
US$2 million |
US$36 million |
94% |
|
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome |
1985 |
US$10 million |
US$36 million |
79% |
|
Mad Max: Fury Road |
2015 |
US$150 million |
US$380.4 million |
97% |
|
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga |
2024 |
US$168 million |
US$173 million |
90% |
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome cost five times more than in the 1980s The road warriorwhich was made for just $2 million. Surprisingly, this represented a tenfold increase in the budget of the original cult classic, which was made for just $200,000 in 1979. Mad Max was the most profitable film ever made in years until The Blair Witch Project dethroned Australian independent film, which explains how The road warrior managed to get away with such an astronomical budget increase. However, just because the series can continue to grow doesn't necessarily mean it should.
A new Mad Max film can't cost more than Furiosa after the prequel flopped
Furiosa: the high budget of a Mad Max saga did not help box office performance
Whenever the next Mad Max the film arrives, it should cost less than Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The big budget of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga contributed to its poor performance, as the franchise did not offer viewers as large a gap between releases as Fury Road and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Fury Road it had an equally big budget, but the series had been off movie screens for thirty years when the belated sequel arrived. In contrast, there were only nine years between Fury Road2015 release and Furiosa: A Mad Max SagaArrival in May 2024.
If Mad Max 5: The Desert happens, the sequel should interrupt the franchise's trend of ever-increasing budgets. THE Mad Max the series doesn't need to get bigger with each new film and, at the very least, the series could benefit from revisiting its dark origins. Part of what he did Mad Max What felt so fresh, vital, and brutal in 1979 was its stripped-back intensity, and a big budget would have polished the film's memorable edges. The road warrior was already much more commercial than its predecessor, while a new Mad Max a film with a smaller budget can be riskier and bolder.
Mad Max returning to its low-budget roots could be beneficial after Furiosa
The Mad Max series doesn't have to be so expensive
Spectators arrive at Mad Max Series that expect action, and spectacular settings, admittedly, don't come cheap. However, after trips like The road warrior and Fury RoadIt's easy to forget how low action and high voltage Mad Max and. 1979 Mad Max it's much darker than viewers remember and lacks much of the campiness that defined its sequels.
The next installments of the franchise could be smaller, simpler and more direct.
This is a good thing because it means future Mad Max Sequels and prequels could borrow the original film's grounded style. After the highly successful show of Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagathe next installments of the franchise could be smaller, simpler and more direct. This approach would not only remind viewers of the original film's charm, but also give the franchise a chance at financial success. The box office struggles of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga prove the Mad Max films must undo The road warriorIt's a big change and think small once again.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics