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 Max, is "actually a secondary figure" in a film that is not about a roaming Max Rockatansky. Instead, the movie is "actually" about a "feminist revolt led by Imperator Furiosa" against Immortan Joe. Further themes pointed out by critics have included vengeance, solidarity, home, and redemption. In his review of "Mad Max: Fury Road", film critic A. O. Scott wrote: "The themes of vengeance and solidarity, the wide-open spaces and the kinetic, ground-level movement mark "Fury Road" as a western, and the filmmakers pay tribute to such masters of the genre as John Ford, Budd Boetticher and, not least, Chuck