Mean Girls Musical Remake Is Queen Bee At The Box Office With $31 Million Debut
Almost 20 years after the original "Mean Girls" hit theaters, the Plastics are back to dominate the box office once again. The 2024 edition of "Mean Girls" features new cast members in the original roles, but this time around they're singing more than just "Jingle Bell Rock," since the movie is specifically an adaptation of the 2017 "Mean Girls" stage musical.
"Mean Girls" will take the No. 1 spot by a mile, grossing an estimated $31.5 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend (per Deadline). The movie got off to a strong start with $11.65 million on its opening day (including previews), and over the traditional three-day weekend it's looking at a gross of $27.5 million. The 2004 movie made $24.4 million in its opening weekend, equivalent to around $39 million when adjusting for inflation.
January is typically a quiet month for movie theaters, so "Mean Girls" is bringing them a welcome boost as women head out to see it in herds. According to PostTrak data (via Deadline), 73% of the opening day audience was female, with around 30% of women seeing the movie with between two and four friends. However, moviegoers seem to be underwhelmed by this remake, with audience exit polling giving it a pretty dismal B CinemaScore compared to the original's A-. Critics are similarly unimpressed; "Mean Girls" has a score of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, but on closer inspection most of the "Fresh" reviews are three-star shrugs rather than five-star raves.
Will the Plastics rule over January's box office?
Though the opening weekend for "Mean Girls" 2024 doesn't quite reach the heights of the original movie after adjusting for inflation, it still puts the remake on a clear path to profit. According to Variety, the film had a relatively slim budget of just $36 million, so its break-even point is in the ballpark of $100 million — a target that it should easily hit after a $30 million-plus domestic debut. "Mean Girls" also opened in a number of major international markets this weekend, including Australia, Mexico, and Brazil, but it won't land in the UK and Ireland until next week.
The lacklustre reviews and audience response will probably lead to a steeper drop-off than the original film, which had strong legs and played in theaters for more than four months, ultimately grossing over $130 million worldwide. But there isn't much in terms of direct competition over the rest of January, so it wouldn't be surprising if "Mean Girls" ends up being the queen bee next weekend as well.