Mad Max: Fury Roadwasn’t the biggest blockbuster of the summer, in the states or worldwide. It didn’t even come close to earning the same kind ofbox officeas othersummer movieslikeJurassic WorldandAvengers: Age of Ultron. But none of that nonsense seems to matter now. The film has just earned its keep on an international scale. Yes, critics across the globe have voted it the best movie of the year.
George Miller, who created the character ofMad Maxand directed the first three movies in the franchise, returned this summer with theapocalyptic actionthriller Mad Max: Fury Road. It quickly went onto earn rave reviews in the states, from critics and fans alike. Now, the film has gone onto beat out some very coveted art house titles, including Jafar Panahi’s Taxi and Laszlo Nemes’Son of Saul, to be awarded the best film of 2015 by the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci).
Mad Max: Fury Road had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it was met with mostly positive reviews. The sequel/reboot also beat out Hou Hsiao-hsien’s highly-praisedThe Assassin. If you’re wondering how Mad Max: Fury Road was selected as the best film of the year with four more months left to go, and a whole tsunami of Award-worthy films on the way, it’s because the 2015 Fipresci best film award finalists were all chosen from films that had their premiere after June 27, 2025 through this week, when the award was announced.
A grand total of 493 Fipresci members all voted on which movie would win the coveted best film award. All of the members are international critics. DirectorGeorge Millerwill receive his Fipresci Grand Prix at the San Sebastian film festival on Sept. 18. There, Mad Max: Fury Road will receive a special gala screening. About winning the award,George Millerseemed genuinely surprised.
“You could have knocked me over with a feather! It’s lovely to have this great cohort of critics acknowledge our collective labors in this way.”
Since its creation in 1999, the Fipresci Grand Prix has gone to such coveted directors asMichael Haneke,Paul Thomas Anderson,Jean-Luc GodardandPedro Almodóvar. Mad Max: Fury Road is certainly one of the more surprising films to ever win the award, as it was positioned this summer as a blockbuster tentpole. So far, Warner Bros. has not announced the sequel, thoughGeorge Millerhas said in the past that the script is ready to go. Rumors claim he will next direct a movie for DC. Some believe it will beMan of Steel 2, but that has never been confirmed by anyone associated with the project. Mad Max: Fury Road has earned $153 million in the states, with a global tally of $374 million.
