Mad Max received a polarized reception upon its release in April 1979, although it won three AACTA Awards and attracted a cult following, while its critical reputation has grown since. Filmed on a budget of A$0.4 million, it earned more than US$100 million worldwide in gross revenue, and held the "Guinness" record for most profitable film. The success of "Mad Max" has been credited for further opening up the global market to Australian New Wave films. The film became the first in the "Mad Max" series, giving rise to three sequels, "Mad Max 2" (1981), "Beyond Thunderdome" (1985), and "" (2015). "A
Mad Max: Fury Road and an "eruption of craziness." Writing for "The Guardian" and awarding the film four stars out of five, Peter Bradshaw wrote, "Extravagantly deranged, ear-splittingly cacophonous, and entirely over the top, George Miller has revived his "Mad Max" punk-western franchise as a bizarre convoy chase action-thriller in the post-apocalyptic desert." Lindsay Bahr of The Associated Press wrote, "Miller has reminded us that blockbusters have the potential to not only be art, but radically visionary – even the fourth in a series. What a lovely day, indeed." Scott Mendelson of "Forbes" gave the film 10 out of 10 stars and wrote, ""Mad