Whether or not Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga should have performed better or was an inevitable “online fandom doesn’t equal audience interest” misfire, such a film shouldn’t have been expected to hold up theatrical — alongside The Garfield Movie — almost by itself. That’s the crux of the chat amid a historically grim Memorial Day weekend box office session.

We dissect If’s complicated $33.7 million domestic debut (remember G-Force?), whether we should be “happy” that The Strangers: Chapter 1 opened with $12 million (if horror becomes as franchise-dependent as every other theatrical genre…), and whether anyone should be surprised at the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black earning less than $3 million for the weekend (I was there… in early 1992… when The Babe bombed).

We talk about the solid $131 million debut for 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,' including what went right, why it got a B from CinemaScore and what the math looks like (especially sans China) in terms of justifying follow-up. Oh, and 'Poolman' opened, too, I guess.

Does the mediocre opening weekend suggest a broader theatrical problem, or was Ryan Gosling in a Hollywood love letter to itself less enticing to regular moviegoers? Plus, how this is all, of course, the fault of our 'Star Wars'

The complicated new math of films distributed by obscenely wealthy streaming companies where it hardly matters if a $55 million flick like Zendaya’s Challengers makes a rate-of-return profit on theatrical alone. What is the “success” point for these “theatrical as PR for streaming” movies in terms of making the distributors happy with the box office results? How good (or bad) is a $15 million opening for a film like Challengers amid the current status quo compared to the mid-2010s when studio programmers were in a healthier place?

ComScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian guest-stars (as Ryan Scott takes a breather) amid a look at Civil War’s second-weekend hold (the good) and the debuts for Abigail and Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (the bad) prior to a deep dive into the upcoming summer movie season (barring a miracle, the ugly).

* What does Civil War’s chart-topping $26 million debut mean for A24?

* Scott and Lisa think a new Blair Witch is a horseman of the apocalypse situation.

* Ryan thinks we should all stop worrying and love the Blair Witch.

* Jeremy and Ryan talk about what they saw at CinemaCon.

And so much more!!

On the measured success of 'Monkey Man' and why 'The First Omen' is a classic "IP for the sake of IP" mistake. Thoughts on why the 20th Century Studios IP has mostly been so much of a dud for Disney, how 'Civil War' will play for paying moviegoers and what constitutes success or failure as the streaming bubble bursts and theaters are grateful for each and every major new release.

On today’s astonishing episode…!

* How the MonsterVerse rose from the ashes of King of the Monsters.

* Do "spectacular by pre-Covid standards” results for Bob Marley, Late Night with the Devil and Love Lies Bleeding offer cause for optimism?

*Small drops for Dune Part Two rebuts conventional wisdom about PLF-or-bust moviegoing.

All that and more!

Is Sony turning Ghostbusters into a viable franchise? Immaculate's record-high (for Neon) opening implies Sydney Sweeney has some drawing power. IFC Films triples their own personal best with a $2.8 million debut for Late Night with the Devil. Trailers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Furiosa and Alien: Romulus each offer three distinct forms of shareholder-friendly generational nostalgia. Strong pre-release tracking for A24’s Civil War implies that a comeback for non-franchise *movie-movies*.

All that and more!