411 Box Office Report: Beekeeper Tops Mean Girls In Holdover-Heavy Weekend

Jason Statham edged out the Mean Girls at the box office this weekend as The Beekeeper rose to the top spot. The Statham-led action thriller claimed its first win in its third weekend with $7.4 million, down just 14% in a frame that had no major Hollywood new releases. That brings the film to a healthy $42.3 million domestically and $104.2 million worldwide.

Beekeeper now stands as the fourth highest-grossing solo Statham-led film to date, just behind The Transporter 2 which ended with $43.1 million back in 2005. While the film won’t come close to The Meg’s $145.1 million domestic final or The Meg 2: The Trench’s $82.6 million, it also didn’t cost those films’ budgets ($179 million and $128 million, respectively). We don’t know the specific budget for Beekeeper yet but it was modest, making it a hit. Domestically it should be able to top out at $55 million or more, making MGM very happy with its results.

Mean Girls slipped a spot to #2 in projections, though that could flip around when the finals come in. The musical adaptation of the teen comedy scored another $7.3 million, down just 37% to bring its totals to $60.8 million stateside and $84.4 million worldwide on a $36 million budget. That makes it a profitable venture for Paramount Pictures. Mean Girls is heading for a likely final domestic tally of $75 million, more than enough to be a hit for the studio.

Wonka stayed steady at #3 for the third straight week as the musical prequel was off 12% to $5.9 million. Warner Bros. is raking in the money on this one, which now has $195 million domestically and $552.1 million worldwide after seven weekends. The film is looking like it will be able to hit $210 million by the end of its North American run; it if can pass $215 million it will have the seventh-highest domestic gross of any 2023 film, beating out Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.

Migration continued to bring in the kids as it was down just 6% in its sixth weekend. The animated film rang up $5.2 million, bringing its totals to $101.3 million domestically and $206.1 million worldwide against a $72 million budget. This is a decently sized hit for Illumination and Universal with a likely endgame of $115 million in the US.

Anyone But You has now officially become the highest-grossing romantic comedy since Crazy Rich Asians. The Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney flick was down 11% in its sixth weekend to $4.8 million, and now has $71.2 million stateside and $126.6 million worldwide. It cost just $25 million, making this a massive money maker with an $80 million domestic gross likely to be its finish line.

The sole new release that made the top 10 this weekend was the Hindi language action flick Fighter. The film from Siddharth Anand opened to $3.7 million, below the $6.8 million start of his previous film Pathaan which opened in January of last year. Fighter failed to catch on critically, with a 27% Rotten Tomatoes aggregated score (compared to 84% for Pathaan). It has totaled $20.4 million worldwide and like most Indian films will probably drop out of the top 10 fairly quickly.

Poor Things reaped the benefits of its heavy Oscar nomination haul as it expanded to 2,300 theaters and was up 43% in its eighth weekend to $3 million. The Yorgos Lanthimos-directed film is looking to have some box office momentum behind it as audiences become more aware of it, and it has made $24.8 million domestically and $51.1 million worldwide against a $35 million budget. The international grosses are bulking up and should help carry this film to profit; domestically, it should end at around $35 million or so.

American Fiction also benefitted from its Oscar nominations, finding its first top 10 berth in its seventh weekend as it expanded. The satirical comedy was up 65% to $2.9 million as it expanded to 1,700 theaters and has now grossed $11.8 million domestically. Much like Beekeeper, this film was distributed by Amazon MGM Studios and we don’t know the budget. Its success depends on how Amazon MGM platforms it from here, but $20 million isn’t completely out of the question.

Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom slipped 23% in its sixth weekend for a $2.8 million take. The DCEU film has now grossed $118.1 million domestically and $412.7 million worldwide, fighting to get close to breakeven against a $205 million budget and heavy marketing costs. It should end its US run at around $125 million.

Godzilla Minus One had a black and white rerelease that pushed it back into the top 10. The critically lauded Toho release was up 276% to $2.6 million for the weekend. That puts the film at $55 million domestically and pushes its worldwide total to a new milestone with $102.6 million worldwide. This is a massive hit for Toho as the film reportedly cost around $15 million.

Next weekend will see a desperately needed new release as Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle opens. The spy action-comedy is looking at a probably $25 million to $30 million opening. Also opening next weekend are faith-based The Chosen: Season 4 Episodes 1 – 3, which should be in the high single digits, and Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions’ dramedy Scrambled which should be in the low single digits.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. The Beekeeper – $7.4 million ($42.3 million total, $104.2 million WW)
2. Mean Girls – $7.3 million ($60.8 million total, $84.4 million WW)
3. Wonka – $5.9 million ($195.2 million total, $552.1 million WW)
4. Migration – $5.2 million ($101.3 million total, $206.1 million WW)
5. Anyone But You – $4.8 million ($71.2 million total, $126.6 million WW)
6. Fighter – $3.7 million ($3.7 million total, $20.4 million WW)
7. Poor Things – $3 million ($24.8 million total, $51.1 million WW)
8. American Fiction – $2.9 million ($11.8 million total, $11.8 million WW)
9. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom – $2.8 million ($118.1 million total, $412.7 million WW)
10. Godzilla Minus One – $2.6 million ($55 million total, $102.6 million WW)