Winter storms and cinema closures in North America didn鈥檛 dampen the opening weekend for 鈥� 鈥� The Paramount release, adapted from the Broadway musical and the 2004 Tina Fey movie, earned $28 million in its first three days in theaters according to studio estimates Sunday. Not accounting for inflation, that鈥檚 more than the $24.4 million the first movie made in its opening weekend.
The 鈥淢ean Girls鈥� competition over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend featured several new releases, including the Jason Statham action movie 鈥� " and the Jay-Z produced biblical satire 鈥淭he Book of Clarence," in addition to a slew of awards contenders capitalizing on buzz from recent nominations and the .
As with 鈥淏arbie,鈥� another enthusiastically pink movie, female audiences made up the vast majority (76%) of opening weekend ticket buyers for 鈥淢ean Girls.鈥� According to exit polls, 70% were between the ages of 18 and 34, which, yes, means that it had appeal for audiences who hadn鈥檛 been born when Regina George was first introduced to the world.
鈥淭he property is iconic,鈥� said Chris Aronson, Paramount鈥檚 president of domestic distribution. 鈥淭ina Fey is legendary and her contemporary twist has resonated with audiences, particularly the female audience.鈥�
This iteration of 鈥淢ean Girls鈥� stars Angourie Rice, Auli鈥檌 Cravalho and , who played Regina on stage. It was originally planned to go straight to streaming on Paramount+, but the studio pivoted after test scores were positive. Social media played a big part in getting the word out and 鈥淢ean Girls鈥� also inspired groups of friends to go to the movies together. An estimated 40% went with two or more friends.
Fey returned to write and co-star in the new film, which was directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. and cost a reported $36 million to produce. Reviews have been more positive than not, with a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences gave it a B CinemaScore which may not bode especially well for word-of-mouth appeal. Recent musicals like 鈥淲onka鈥� and 鈥淭he Color Purple鈥� scored in the A-range. The studio is optimistic after this weekend though. It also made $6.5 million from 16 international markets.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no secret that the release calendar is a little light for the first couple months of the year and because of the reception to this film we stand a chance of broadening this audience,鈥� Aronson said. 鈥淚t really is a crowd-pleaser.鈥�
Amazon and MGM鈥檚 鈥淭he Beekeeper" debuted in second place with an estimated $16.8 million from 3,303 theaters. Men made up approximately 62% of ticket buyers and audiences overall gave it a B+ CinemaScore. By the end of the four-day weekend, the studio expects it to have made $19.1 million. Miramax handled the international distribution for 鈥淭he Beekeper,鈥� which also grossed $20.4 million from 49 territories.
Third place went to 鈥淲onka,鈥� which added $8.4 million in its fifth weekend. The Timoth茅e Chalamet-led musical has now made over $178 million domestically and $500 million globally.
鈥淢usicals are on a roll,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淚t seems like a lot of studios run away from putting musical on their films for fear of limiting their audience pool, but I think this is a genre Hollywood should embrace and highlight.鈥�
The Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell romantic comedy 鈥淎nyone But You,鈥� a Sony release, is turning into a bit of a sleeper success as well, making nearly $7 million in its fourth weekend. By Monday, its domestic total should be around $56.5 million. Universal and Illumination鈥檚 鈥淢igration鈥� rounded out the top five with $6.2 million in its fourth weekend.
Not everything landed this weekend, though. 鈥� ,鈥� a faith-based comedy/drama with a starry, ensemble cast including LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard and Teyana Taylor is not off to a promising start. The Legendary Pictures release opened to an estimated $2.6 million from just over 2,000 locations.
Written and directed by the British singer-songwriter Jeymes Samuel (stage name The Bullitts), it was self-consciously styled after Golden Age biblical epics like 鈥淭he Ten Commandments.鈥� It has also gotten mixed reviews, with 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B CinemaScore.
The Walt Disney Co. sent its 2020 Pixar film 鈥淪oul鈥� to movie theaters this weekend as well, where it made $429,000 from 1350 locations in North America. It's the first of several Pixar movies, including 鈥淟uca" and 鈥淭urning Red,鈥� that Disney is bringing to theaters this winter after all had streaming-only releases on Disney+ during the pandemic.
Hollywood's awards season is also in full swing, and though many top contenders are already available to watch at home, some are still rolling out in theaters and hoping to capitalize on new nominations and awards shows like last weekend's Golden Globes. 鈥淧oor Things,鈥� which was a big winner, added $1.8 million from only 580 theaters. 鈥淎ll of Us Strangers鈥� took in $474,000 from 120 screens. 鈥淎merican Fiction鈥� expanded nationwide and made $1.9 million from 625 screens. 鈥淭he Zone of Interest,鈥� playing on 25 screens, also crossed $1 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.
1. 鈥淢ean Girls,鈥� $28 million.
2. 鈥淭he Beekeeper,鈥� $16.8 million.
3. 鈥淲onka,鈥� $8.4 million.
4. 鈥淎nyone But You,鈥� $6.9 million.
5. 鈥淢igration,鈥� $6.2 million.
6. 鈥淎quaman and the Lost Kingdom,鈥� $5.3 million.
7. 鈥淣ight Swim,鈥� $4.7 million.
8. 鈥淭he Boys in the Boat,鈥� $3.5 million.
9. 鈥淭he Book of Clarence,鈥�$2.6 million.
10. 鈥淭he Iron Claw,鈥� $2.4 million.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
