While the film will likely never hold the top spot on the weekend charts, George Miller’s masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road continues to have incredibly strong legs at the box office, as the film has now surpassed $300 million worldwide. Boosted by universal critical acclaim and strong audience response, both first-timers and established fans have been turning out to catch the energizing pic in theaters in its four weeks in release, and Warner Bros. announced today that it has now grossed $302 million worldwide.
The picture’s domestic total stands at $125.1 million to date, which slots it at #9 on the 2015 chart just under another R-rated actioner that performed excellently: Kingsman: The Secret Service. Fury Road will undoubtedly surpass both that film and Insurgent to sit under Pitch Perfect 2 at #8, but it remains to be seen just how high the pic will climb.
Of course box office numbers aren’t the be-all, end-all, and I’m fully satisfied just knowing that something as bold as Mad Max: Fury Road exists in the year 2015, but it’s nice to see that folks around the world are being exposed to a real piece of quality blockbuster filmmaking from a director at the top of his game.
The question many continue to ask is, will there be a sequel? Miller has the script for a follow-up and an outline for a third film, but it’s unclear if A. he’d want to jump right back into the world of Mad Max and B. if Warner Bros. will greenlight a sequel. It’s well-known by now that the production of Fury Road was rather tumultuous, and while the end product appears to have been well worth the trouble, WB will be closely watching Fury Road’s performance at the box office before it decides to move forward on a follow-up.
It’s encouraging that Warners sent out a press release today touting the pic passing the $300 million milestone, and Pacific Rim got a sequel off of a $411 million worldwide total (though to be fair that film’s strong performance in Asia helped grant the Pacific Rim 2 greenlight), so a Mad Max: Fury Road follow-up is certainly a possibility.
But personally, I’ll be happy either way. If we do get a Fury Road sequel (directed by Miller, of course), then I’ll look forward to seeing what else Miller has up his sleeve. But if we don’t, I’m entirely content with the impeccable movie that we already have—you know, the one Miller spent nearly a decade making. 10 or 20 years from now, I have a feeling we’re gonna hear a lot of stories from young filmmakers about how Mad Max: Fury Road inspired them to become directors. That feels like a more lasting legacy than whether the movie spawned a new franchise or not.
