‘Mean Girls’ ranked #1 at the box office

Winter storms and theater closures across North America did not affect the opening weekend of “Mean Girls.” The Paramount film, based on the Broadway musical and 2004 Tina Fey film, grossed $28 million in its first three days of release, according to the studio. It is estimated on Sunday. Not counting inflation, that’s more than the $24.4 million the first movie made in its opening weekend.

The “Mean Girls” competition, held over Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday weekend, included Jason Statham’s action movie “The Beekeeper” and Jay-Z’s biblical satire “The Book of Clarence,” along with many It featured a large number of new movies, including a number of new movies. Awards contenders benefiting from recent nominations and attention from the Golden Globes.

As with “Barbie,” another rousing soap opera, female audiences made up the vast majority (76%) of “Mean Girls” opening weekend ticket buyers. According to exit polls, 70% were between the ages of 18 and 34, meaning Regina George appealed to audiences who were not yet born when it was first introduced to the world.

“The property is iconic,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “Tina Fey’s take on the myth and contemporary resonated with audiences, especially female audiences.”

This iteration of “Mean Girls” stars Angourie Rice, Auli’i Cravalho and Reneé Rapp, who plays Regina on stage. It was initially planned to stream directly on Paramount+, but the studio made changes when test scores were positive. Social media played a big role in spreading the news, and “Mean Girls” also inspired groups of friends to go to the movies together. An estimated 40% went with two or more friends.

Fey, Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. He returned to write and co-star in the new film, directed by , which cost $36 million to produce. Reviews have been more positive than ever, with a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences gave the film a B CinemaScore, which may not bode well for word-of-mouth appeal. Recent musicals like “Wonka” and “The Color Purple” have been rated in the A range. The studio is optimistic after this weekend. It also generated $6.5 million in revenue from 16 international markets.

“It’s no secret that the release schedule has been a little light for the first few months of the year, and with the interest in this film, we have a chance to expand that audience,” Aronson said. “It’s a real crowd-pleaser.”

Amazon and MGM’s “The Beekeeper” came in second with an estimated $16.8 million from 3,303 theaters. Males made up approximately 62% of ticket buyers, and audiences overall gave the film a B+ CinemaScore. The studio expects to make $19.1 million over the four-day weekend. Miramax handled international distribution for “The Beekeper,” which grossed $20.4 million from 49 territories.

Third place was taken by “Wonka,” which earned $8.4 million in its fifth weekend. The Timothée Chalamet-led musical has now grossed over $178 million domestically and $500 million worldwide.

“Musicals are on the rise,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst. “Many studios seem to shy away from putting musicals in their movies for fear of limiting the audience pool, but I think it’s a genre that Hollywood should embrace and highlight.”

Sony’s upcoming Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell romantic comedy “Nobody But You” is also turning out to be a bit of a sleeper success, grossing nearly $7 million in its fourth weekend. Its domestic total on Monday is expected to be around $56.5 million. Universal and Illumination’s “Migration” was in the top five with $6.2 million in its fourth weekend.

But all was not well this weekend. “The Book of Clarence,” a faith-based comedy/drama with a starry cast including LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard and Teyana Taylor, doesn’t get off to a promising start. It opened to an estimated $2.6 million from more than 2,000 locations.

Written and directed by British singer-songwriter Jeymes Samuel (stage name The Bullitts), the film was consciously inspired by Golden Age biblical epics such as “The Ten Commandments.” It also received mixed reviews, with a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B CinemaScore.

Walt Disney Co. sent the 2020 Pixar movie “Soul” to movie theaters this weekend, where it earned $429,000 from 1,350 locations in North America. This is the first of many Pixar films, including “Luca” and “Turning Red,” that Disney will bring to theaters this winter after streaming-only releases on Disney+ during the pandemic.

Hollywood’s awards season is also in full swing, and while many top contenders are already available to watch at home, some are still hitting theaters and hoping to capitalize on new nominations and awards shows like last weekend’s Golden Globes. “Poor Things,” a big winner, earned $1.8 million from just 580 theaters. “We Are All Aliens” grossed $474,000 from 120 screens. “American Fiction” expanded nationwide, grossing $1.9 million from 625 screens. “The Zone of Interest,” shown on 25 screens, also exceeded $1 million.

Estimated ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters from Friday through Sunday, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be announced on Tuesday.

1. “Mean Girls,” $28 million.

2. “The Beekeeper,” $16.8 million.

3. “Wonka,” $8.4 million.

4. “Everybody But You,” $6.9 million.

5. “Immigration,” $6.2 million.

6. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” $5.3 million.

7. “Night Swim,” $4.7 million.

8. “Kids in the Boat” $3.5 million.

9. “The Book of Clarence,” $2.6 million.

10. “Iron Claw,” $2.4 million.