‘Mean Girls’ Still No. 1 With $11.7 Million, But Box Office Sinks Into Winter Slump

Paramount comedy drops 59% from opening weekend while overall weekend totals sink 34%

Mean Girls box office
"The Plastics" in "Mean Girls" (2024) (Paramount Pictures)

With no major movie releases coming this weekend or the next, the box office is sinking into a big slump as Paramount’s “Mean Girls” is holding on to the No. 1 spot with just $11.7 million grossed.

“Mean Girls” isn’t looking like it is going to have significant legs beyond its opening weekend audience as it is dropping 59% from its opening weekend. The good news for the film, which was moved from a streaming release to theaters, is still on its way to turning a decent profit with a 1o-day domestic total of approximately $49.3 million against a $36 million budget.

Beyond that, the top 5 on the charts remains unchanged from MLK weekend, as overall weekend totals are set to sink 35% to $68 million. The one new wide release to hit theaters on Friday, Bleecker Street’s “I.S.S.,” didn’t crack the top 5 with just $3 million grossed from 2,520 theaters. With a C- on CinemaScore, its theatrical run will likely be short.

On the specialty side, Ava DuVernay’s biopic drama “Origin” was released by Neon in 125 theaters, grossing $875,000 for a decent per theater average of $7,000. Starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and based around Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste: The Origins of our Discontents,” the film holds an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Back in the holdover-filled top 5, Amazon MGM’s “The Beekeeper” added just under $8.5 million in its second weekend as it now holds a 10-day domestic total of $31.1 million. Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” is in third with $6.7 million as it continues to push towards $200 million domestic in the final stages of its theatrical run with $187 million grossed after six weekends.

Sony’s enduring romcom “Anyone But You” added $5.4 million in its fifth weekend, giving it a domestic total of $64.3 million and making it the first R-Rated romcom since “Bridget Jones’ Baby” in 2016 to cross $100 million worldwide.

While not a massive blockbuster, the strong word-of-mouth “Anyone But You” has built over the past month has shown the appetite for quality romcoms among female moviegoers, something that other recent films in the genre like Universal’s “Ticket to Paradise” have been able to capitalize on.

Universal/Illumination’s “Migration” completes the top 5, sitting just behind “Anyone But You” with $5.3 million as it continues its lukewarm box office run with $94.6 million domestic and $191 million worldwide.

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