Furiosa was one of the most anticipated films of the year. Fans were itching to return to the world that director George Miller seemingly perfected with Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015, and the critical reaction suggested that the film delivered. The box office results? A slightly different story.
Furiosa did not prove to be the financial success that Fury Road was, but streaming has effectively changed the playing field. Films don't stay in theaters as long as they did a decade ago, as platforms like Prime and Max swing in to provide streaming releases within months (sometimes weeks) of a new theatrical release. Furiosa is a prime (no pun intended) example.
Furiosa will stream on Max starting August 16
The blockbuster will be making its Max premiere on Friday, August 16. Furiosa will join the rest of the films in the Mad Max saga on Max (once again, no pun intended), which includes Mad Max (1979), The Road Warrior (1982), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), and of course, Fury Road.
Furiosa broke from the traditional Mad Max mold, in that it was both a prequel and a spinoff focused on a secondary character. George Miller originally planned to turn the story into an anime, and work with director Mahiro Maeda, but determined that it would have more impact as a live action release alongside its chronological sequel, Fury Road.
Miller announced plans to make both films as early as 2010, and briefly considered filming them back to back. Unfortunately, contract disputes and legal red tape before and after the release of Fury Road made this scheduling impossible.
George Miller has plans for another Mad Max film
While there is no strict continuity in the Mad Max saga, the director does see Fury Road and Furiosa as being linked. He also has plans for a third screenplay titled Mad Max: The Wasteland, that would be set between the events of both films.
Unfortunately, the underwhelming box office returns for Furiosa will make it extremely difficult for George Miller to mount his next installment. He acknowledged as much during a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter. "I’ll definitely wait to see how this goes, before we even think about it," he said.
The popularity of certain films on streaming have, however, spurred studios to revive certain IP, so we maintain hope that Furiosa will find new life on Max (sounds odd out of context, but you know what we mean).