411 Box Office Report: Mean Girls Reigns With $32 Million, The Beekeeper Delivers

The box office got a shot in the arm this weekend as Mean Girls and The Beekeeper both overdelivered to take the top spots. The musical adaptation of the 2004 teen comedy led the way, bringing in $28 million over three days and $32 million for the four-day weekend. That’s above the $25 million that was expected for the film heading into the weekend and a slight improvement on the $24.4 million start of the original film (not taking inflation into account).

The original Mean Girls has long become an indelible part of pop culture, and the new film capitalized nicely on that status. The 2024 film is based on the Broadway musical that was adapted from the Lindsay Lohan-starrer and found plenty of money from audiences who love both the musical and the original film. It’s the best start for a comedy (outside of Barbie) since Space Jam: A New Legacy opened to $31.1 million back in July of 2021 – and unlike that film, it’s not likely to crater in its second weekend. It also joins Wonka as the successful musicals that have arrived this winter

While audience anticipation was high for this among its target audience, Mean Girls was also able to goose its chances by virtue of being generally liked. The film stands at a 71% aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes and while word of mouth could be better (a 66% RT audience rating and a B CinemaScore), they aren’t absolutely terrible.

The film has added $6.5 million in its overseas start for $38.5 million worldwide, a very solid start against a $30 million budget. The film should be able to get to at least $75 million domestically and will be a nice hit for Paramount.

Meanwhile, The Beekeeper provided solid male counterprogramming to The Plastics. The Jason Statham-led action thriller grossed $16.8 million over three days and $19 million through Monday, nicely above the low teens start that was expected. While these aren’t blockbuster numbers, they rep the best start for Statham outside of the Fast and Meg franchises since The Expendables 2 opened to 28.6 million back in 2012.

MGM can be credited for a strong marketing campaign behind The Beekeeper, which highlighted Statham kicking ass. But it also helps that the film is one of Statham’s better-reviewed solo films at a 68% RT aggregated score. Moviegoers are on board for the film too with a 98% RT audience rating and a B+ CinemaScore, both of which kept the film’s word of mouth strong throughout the weekend.

There’s no word yet on Beekeeper’s budget, but it is believed to be fairly low for its genre. That will help the film, which has also added $20.4 million overseas for a $39.5 million worldwide total.
The film should be able to at least top $45 million in the US and should bring in a decent bit of coin for the studio.

Wonka was down two spots to #3 in its fifth weekend with $8.4 million over three days and a projected $10.9 million through Monday. The Warner Bros. prequel is not shedding an tears though as it continues to streak to higher profits at $178.7 million domestically and $507.8 million worldwide, all against a $125 million budget. It’s on course for $200 million domestically and is a mega-hit for the studio.

Anyone But You kept its strong box office legs running, slipping just 29% to $6.9 million through three days and $8.3 million through four. The romcom has raked in $56.5 million domestically and $79.3 million worldwide, a hit for Sony Pictures against a $25 million budget. It should be able to max out at around $65 million to $70 million in the states.

Migration is also a hit, as it brought in $6.2 million over three days and $8.3 million over four. The Illumination and Universal comedy has $87.9 million domestically and $174.7 million worldwide, officially a money maker for the studio against its $72 million budget. A $100 million domestic final remains likely.

Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom fell 50% in its fourth weekend for $5.3 million over three days and $6.6 million over four. The DCEU closer has taken huge advantage of the holiday season and that is minimizing its losses – though losses there will be thanks to that $205 million budget. It has totaled $109.6 million domestically and $375.1 million worldwide and should finish out around $120 million in the US.

Night Swim took a hefty drop in its second weekend, slipping 60% to $4.7 million ($5.5 million through Monday). The Universal horror flick is the victim of poor reviews and word of mouth, neither of which are helping it here. That said, this is not a bad situation for Universal and Blumhouse considering the film has amassed $20 million domestically and $30.6 million worldwide against a budget of $15 million. The movie will be minorly profitable with a probable $35 million domestic final, but no M3GAN by any stretch.

Coming in at #7 was the Telugu-language action drama Guntur Kaaram, which has grossed $4.1 million. (No word on the four-day projection, which isn’t abnormal for Indian films). The film has tallied up $16 million worldwide against a reported $26 million budget.

The Boys In the Boat was down 37% in its third weekend to $3.5 million and $4.2 million through Monday. The sports drama It has now grossed $40 million domestically and is just starting to roll out overseas for $40.4 million worldwide against a $40 million budget. It should finish off with about $50 million in the US.

The final new wide release of the weekend opened quietly in The Book of Clarence. The Biblical comedy brought in just $2.8 million through Sunday and $3 million through Monday, well below the expected mid-to-high single digit start. The Sony Pictures release is looking pretty DOA against a $40 million budget and probably won’t get above $10 million stateside.

Next weekend will almost certainly see Mean Girls stay at #1 without any major studio releases coming. Bleecker Street’s sci-fi thriller I.S.S. is looking to be in the low single digits, while Ava DuVernay’s Origin will expand wide but isn’t expected to gain much traction

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Mean Girls – $28 million ($32 million total, $38.5 million WW)
2. The Beekeeper – $16.8 million ($19.1 million total, $39.5 million WW)
3. Wonka – $8.4 million ($178.7 million total, $507.8 million WW)
4. Anyone But You – $6.9 million ($56.5 million total, $79.3 million WW)
5. Migration – $6.2 million ($87.9 million total, $174.7 million WW)
6. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom – $5.3 million ($109.6 million total, $375.1 million WW)
7. Night Swim – $4.7 million ($20 million total, $30.6 million WW)
8. Gunter Kaaram – $4.1 million ($4.1 million total, $16 million WW)
9. The Boys In the Boat – $3.5 million ($40 million total, $40.4 million WW)
10. The Book of Clarence – $2.6 million ($3 million total, $3 million WW)