Paramount’s reimagining of the classic film Mean Girls is set to have a solid opening weekend, eyeing $12.3 million on Friday, including previews. This is expected to translate into a 3-day total of $29 million and a 4-day total of $33 million across 3,791 theaters. The film, directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., had originally been intended for release on Paramount+, but positive test scores led the studio to change course and release it theatrically. So far, Mean Girls has received a rating of 3 1/2 stars on Comscore Screen Engine’s PostTrak, with a 71% female audience. Rotten Tomatoes critics have given it a 70% fresh rating.
Meanwhile, Amazon MGM’s action film The Beekeeper is also off to a promising start, with $7 million in box office earnings on Friday and a projected 3-day total of $17 million at 3,303 sites. The David Ayer-directed movie, starring Jason Statham, is expected to appeal to male audiences. Early exits from PostTrak indicate a solid 4-star rating and a 65% male turnout, with an overall audience consisting of 82% individuals over the age of 25. The Beekeeper has received a 72% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics. Previews for the film generated $2.4 million, surpassing the preview figures for Statham’s previous movie The Meg 2.
Unfortunately, this MLK weekend is expected to fall short of the previous year’s performance, which grossed $124.8 million over four days. Last year’s success was driven by the fifth weekend of Avatar: The Way of Water, which earned $39.8 million, and the second weekend of M3GAN, which brought in $21.66 million. The current lineup of films lacks the same depth of holdover releases, unless Warner Bros.’ Wonka and Sony’s Anyone But You can outperform expectations. Wonka is projected to earn between $8 million and $9 million over 3 days and between $10 million and $12 million over four days. Anyone But You is expected to reach a total of $57.7 million, surpassing the gross of Universal’s George Clooney-Julia Roberts title Ticket to Paradise at the same point in time.
The fifth weekend of Illumination/Universal’s Migration is predicted to earn $1 million on Friday, leading to a 3-day total of $4.7 million, a 4-day total of $6.3 million, and a cumulative gross of $85.8 million by the end of MLK Day. Legendary/Tri-Star’s The Book of Clarence is not faring as well, bringing in only $1 million on Friday. The film is expected to have a 3-day total of $2.4 million and a 4-day total of $3 million.
Thursday numbers were relatively low for movies currently in theatrical release. Sony’s romantic comedy Anyone But You, however, managed to maintain a steady performance, grossing $997,000 at 3,055 theaters, just a 4% drop from Wednesday. The cumulative gross for the film before MLK weekend stands at $48.2 million. Warner Bros.’ Wonka followed in second place with $675,000 on Thursday, a 14% drop from Wednesday, bringing its total gross to $167.8 million after four weeks. Amazon MGM’s The Boys in the Boat earned $559,000 on Thursday, a 3% decrease from Wednesday, and now stands at a cumulative gross of $35.8 million as it enters its third weekend.
Looking ahead, the box office will see limited major studio wide releases until Apple Original Films’ Argylle arrives on February 2 via Universal. Disney is set to release a reimagining of Pixar’s Soul, which did not receive a theatrical release due to the pandemic and was instead released on Disney+. The film is expected to be shown in 1,300 theaters and is projected to earn around $2 million.
While Mean Girls Redux and The Beekeeper are off to a promising start at the box office, this MLK weekend is unlikely to match the success of the previous year. The lineup of films lacks the same level of depth and holdover releases. However, with a few surprises and strong performances from upcoming releases, the box office may still have some unexpected hits in store.