Family-Friendly Movies Dominate Memorial Day Weekend Box Office
By Movieguide® Staff
Family-friendly movies dominated the Memorial Day weekend box office.
New release THE GARFIELD MOVIE debuted at $24,006,629 for its opening weekend, while John Krasinski’s IF earned $16,145,804 during its second weekend in theaters, together grossing a total of $40,152,433.
Combined, the two massively outperformed the ultra-violent FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, which grossed $26,300,000 over its opening weekend.
“FURIOSA is an epic tale of survival in a chaotic world, with some compelling drama and action and good performances. However, the ending is a bit anti-climactic,” Movieguide® reports. “FURIOSA is filled with lots of strong, sometimes extreme, violence between marauding armies.”
Movieguide® praised THE GARFIELD MOVIE’s very strong moral worldview and portrayal of a father and son reconciling.
“After an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father – scruffy street cat Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) – Garfield and his canine friend Odie are forced from their perfectly pampered life into joining Vic in a hilarious, high-stakes heist,” a synopsis describes.
It earned a +1 content rating, and part of Movieguide®’s review reads:
The best part of THE GARFIELD MOVIE is the father and son relationship. At the end, it is deeply emotive and brings tears. It also has some very funny, exciting moments. THE GARFIELD MOVIE is never boring. It also has many heartwarming emotional moments and a very strong moral worldview. However, some of the scary moments and jeopardy in THE GARFIELD MOVIE are a little too intense.
IF similarly has a strong moral worldview and celebrates “imagination, creativity, love, family, and having a youthful attitude.” The review reads:
IF is beautifully shot and performed. It also has some fun adventures and humorous situations, with lots of creativity. However, what’s most surprising about the movie are its heartfelt dramatic moments, which are emotionally powerful. IF is a celebration of imagination, creativity, love, and family. The movie promotes the idea that adults should maintain a youthful attitude and not abandon the imagination and love they had as children. IF is relatively family friendly. However, it’s marred by some meandering moments, four light obscenities and 15 light profanities. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teen children.
Moral, uplifting and family-friendly movies will always succeed. Last year’s box office proves it. Movieguide® previously reported:
Positive movies with moral, Christian worldviews still draw moviegoers despite the seeming dominance of immoral content produced in Hollywood.
In 2023, 70% of the top 10 movies had strong or very strong Christian, redemptive or morally uplifting content and values, Movieguide®’s Report to the Entertainment Industry found.
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 held the No. 2 through 4 spots at the domestic box office, while THE LITTLE MERMAID, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA and SOUND OF FREEDOM took sixth, seventh and ninth respectively…
What does this mean for filmmakers?
For movies to impact audiences and garner a bigger box office take, creators should focus on producing stories with moral, Christian worldviews.
