Summary
TheMad Maxfranchise has been around for a very long time, debuting a few years after the firstStar Wars, just one year after the firstSupermanmovie, and in the same year as the firstAlien.Mad Maxmade quite the splash when it first hit international theaters, retaining the world record for the most profitable movie ever made right up untilThe Blair Witch Project’s release20 years later. But everyMad Maxmovie hasn’t been met with the same level of success.
While the first twoMad Maxmovies were box office smash-hits,Mad Max Beyond Thunderdomebegan a downward spiral in the franchise’s commercial success. Despite receiving critical acclaim, 2015’sMad Max: Fury Roadis widely believed to have barely broken even at the box office and history seems to be repeating itself with the recently releasedFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga. But it’s not onlyMad Maxmovies that have experienced this unfortunate commercial trend.
Releasing the same year asMad Max: FuryRoad, the 2015Mad Maxgame was the last time fans were given a gaming adaptation of the franchise. Unfortunately, much like its recent movie counterparts,the 2015Mad Maxgamedidn’t fare too well when it came to sales. Though official numbers have never been released, it’s been confirmed that the game was viewed as a disappointment from publisher Warner Bros.’s perspective. In a recent thread on Twitter, Avalanche Studios' former chief Christofer Sundberg stated that Warner Bros. “blamed” the studio for the game’s “bad sales,” which have often been attributed to the game launching on the same day asMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Mad Max’s critical receptionalso likely didn’t help matters, with reviews at the time giving the game scores of around 7. But despite its critical and commercial reception, 2015’sMad Maxhas become a bit of a cult hit over the last nine years, with many fans enjoying the portrayal of its titular character, its wasteland setting, and its intriguing emphasis on vehicular combat. With there being so fewMad Maxvideo game adaptations, there’s a growing desire from fans to see another one, but that might not be the smartest choice for publishers.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagais not performing very well at the box office. In its opening weekend,Furiosamanaged to make just $25.6 million at the domestic box office, which marked the lowest performance of any Memorial Day debut since 1995. And rather disappointingly, things haven’t gotten much better for the long-awaited prequel. At this time,Furiosahas grossed around $160 million at the worldwide box office, which doesn’t even recoup the movie’s reported $168 million budget.
Despite earning some impressive critical scores across the board,Furiosahas underperformed drastically at the box office, more so than anyMad Maxentry before it. Though the franchise definitely has its vocal supporters, it seems as though theMad Maxbrand just doesn’t hold as much weight as it once did, and unfortunately, those fans alone won’t be enough to justify another fully-fledgedMad Maxvideo game adaptation.
Mad Max
WHERE TO PLAY
Avalanche Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment bring you an action-adventure game set in the universe of the Mad Max franchise created by George Miller.Become Mad Max, the lone warrior in a savage post-apocalyptic world where cars are the key to survival. In this action-packed, open world, third person action game, you must fight to stay alive in The Wasteland, using brutal on-ground and vehicular against vicious gangs of bandits.A reluctant hero with an instinct for survival, Max wants nothing more than to leave the madness behind and find solace in the storied “Plains of Silence.” Players are challenged with treacherous missions as they scavenge the dangerous landscape for supplies to build the ultimate combat vehicle.In this action-packed, open world, third person action game, you must fight to stay alive in The Wasteland, using brutal on-ground and vehicular against vicious gangs of bandits. Cars are the key to survival.
