‘Mean Girls’ Takes 1st Place at Box Office

Winter storms and cinema closures in North America didn’t dampen the opening weekend for “Mean Girls.” The Paramount release, adapted from the Broadway musical and the 2004 Tina Fey movie, earned $28 million in its first three days in theaters according to studio estimates Sunday. Not accounting for inflation, that’s more than the $24.4 million the first movie made in its opening weekend, The Associated Press reported.
The “Mean Girls” competition over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend featured several new releases, including the Jason Statham action movie “The Beekeeper" and the Jay-Z produced biblical satire “The Book of Clarence," in addition to a slew of awards contenders capitalizing on buzz from recent nominations and the Golden Globes.
As with “Barbie,” another enthusiastically pink movie, female audiences made up the vast majority (76%) of opening weekend ticket buyers for “Mean Girls.” According to exit polls, 70% were between the ages of 18 and 34, which, yes, means that it had appeal for audiences who hadn’t been born when Regina George was first introduced to the world.
“The property is iconic,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “Tina Fey is legendary and her contemporary twist has resonated with audiences, particularly the female audience.”
This iteration of “Mean Girls” stars Angourie Rice, Auli’i Cravalho and Reneé Rap, who played Regina on stage. It was originally planned to go straight to streaming on Paramount+, but the studio pivoted after test scores were positive. Social media played a big part in getting the word out and “Mean Girls” also inspired groups of friends to go to the movies together. An estimated 40% went with two or more friends.
Fey returned to write and co-star in the new film, which was directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. and cost a reported $36 million to produce. Reviews have been more positive than not, with a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences gave it a B CinemaScore which may not bode especially well for word-of-mouth appeal. Recent musicals like “Wonka” and “The Color Purple” scored in the A-range. The studio is optimistic after this weekend though. It also made $6.5 million from 16 international markets.
“It’s no secret that the release calendar is a little light for the first couple months of the year and because of the reception to this film we stand a chance of broadening this audience,” Aronson said. “It really is a crowd-pleaser.”
Amazon and MGM’s “The Beekeeper" debuted in second place with an estimated $16.8 million from 3,303 theaters. Men made up approximately 62% of ticket buyers and audiences overall gave it a B+ CinemaScore. By the end of the four-day weekend, the studio expects it to have made $19.1 million. Miramax handled the international distribution for “The Beekeper,” which also grossed $20.4 million from 49 territories.
Third place went to “Wonka,” which added $8.4 million in its fifth weekend. The Timothée Chalamet-led musical has now made over $178 million domestically and $500 million globally.
“Musicals are on a roll,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “It seems like a lot of studios run away from putting musical on their films for fear of limiting their audience pool, but I think this is a genre Hollywood should embrace and highlight.”
The Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell romantic comedy “Anyone But You,” a Sony release, is turning into a bit of a sleeper success as well, making nearly $7 million in its fourth weekend. By Monday, its domestic total should be around $56.5 million. Universal and Illumination’s “Migration” rounded out the top five with $6.2 million in its fourth weekend.
Not everything landed this weekend, though. “The Book of Clarence,” a faith-based comedy/drama with a starry, ensemble cast including LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard and Teyana Taylor is not off to a promising start. The Legendary Pictures release opened to an estimated $2.6 million from just over 2,000 locations.
Written and directed by the British singer-songwriter Jeymes Samuel (stage name The Bullitts), it was self-consciously styled after Golden Age biblical epics like “The Ten Commandments.” It has also gotten mixed reviews, with 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B CinemaScore.
The Walt Disney Co. sent its 2020 Pixar film “Soul” to movie theaters this weekend as well, where it made $429,000 from 1,350 locations in North America. It's the first of several Pixar movies, including “Luca" and “Turning Red,” that Disney is bringing to theaters this winter after all had streaming-only releases on Disney+ during the pandemic.
Hollywood's awards season is also in full swing, and though many top contenders are already available to watch at home, some are still rolling out in theaters and hoping to capitalize on new nominations and awards shows like last weekend's Golden Globes. “Poor Things,” which was a big winner, added $1.8 million from only 580 theaters. “All of Us Strangers” took in $474,000 from 120 screens. “American Fiction” expanded nationwide and made $1.9 million from 625 screens. “The Zone of Interest,” playing on 25 screens, also crossed $1 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.

When wildfires destroyed parts of Los Angeles this week, real estate agent Jenna Cooper started asking friends for clothing and other items to help people in need.

Her request spread quickly through a network of powerful women. Actors including Sharon Stone and Halle Berry responded, providing sweaters, shoes, clothing, handbags, belts, pajamas and more pulled from their own collections.

"I'm packing up my entire closet," Berry wrote on Instagram. "If you live in the Southern California area, I urge you to do the same. This is something we can do right now."

Cooper, who also runs a home goods store called +COOP, cleared half the space to create a pop-up shopping experience for displaced people to take what they need. Many Angelenos lost entire homes in the fires, which were still burning on Friday.

Stone circulated information about the donations on social media, which helped attract publicity. She and her sister, Kelly Stone, contributed clothing, bedding and more, and Kelly volunteered to assist shoppers.

"The first thing they need when they come in the store is a hug," Kelly Stone said. She then said to shoppers, "Show me pictures of yourself, how do you dress?" so she could direct them to sweaters or trench coats that reflected their style.

At the store on Friday, a therapy dog named Jackie Robinson greeted people at the door. Inside, they looked through racks of dresses and coats, stacks of denim, shelves of shoes and baskets of handbags.

Offerings ranged from packages of fresh underwear from Target to new or lightly used Zara dresses and some Gucci and Ferragamo shoes in the mix.

Cooper said she received donations and volunteer support from power players across Los Angeles, including actors, executives, lawyers, restaurant owners and moms. Her network of real estate agents in New York was sending gift cards, she said.

One Hollywood stylist came with two large bags of items from her closet and was enlisted to help organize the store for shoppers over the weekend.

"I know people who have lost everything, and even people I don't know I'm devastated for," said Lisa Cera, who has worked for celebrities including the Kardashians and Lenny Kravitz. "I decided I'm just going to bring whatever I can."

Ellen Bennett was choosing items for her 72-year-old mother, who lost her home in the Eaton fire on the east side of Los Angeles. Bennett said she selected "the basics," including socks, sweaters, pants, a jacket and a pair of running shoes.

"She left her house with her dog and a bag and just a few things. She thought she would come back," Bennett said of her mother, adding, "It's so special and beautiful that in this time of tragedy, people are rising up and helping each other."

Store owner Cooper said she helped a man find a pair of sneakers so he could run on the beach, something he had not done since the fires erupted. She said she was overwhelmed by the response to her idea to help.

"This is a city of love, and everybody wants to support each other," Cooper said.

‘Mean Girls’ Takes 1st Place at Box Office