Box Office Recap: January 12-14, 2024
Mean Girls claims the box office crown with a “so fetch” MLK holiday weekend.
Moviegoers were told to “get in, loser” and get in they did, as Mean Girls debuted as the box office victor over the MLK holiday weekend with a near-$35 million opening. Also, on the opening weekend front, Jason Statham’s action thriller The Beekeeper scored a debut of nearly $20 million, while, on the other hand, the Biblical satire The Book of Clarence opened far more quietly with $2+ million. Meanwhile, though dropping from first place to third, Wonka hit a box office milestone by surpassing the half billion mark worldwide.
Winning first place, Paramount Pictures’s Mean Girls debuted with $28.0 million domestically, meeting its initial $27-30 million pre-release expectations. The musical teen comedy, which is both a remake of the 2004 Lindsay Lohan film and adaptation of the 2017 Broadway musical, opened in 3,791 locations, earning a solid per-theater average of $7,385. The film scored solid reviews from critics and a “B” CinemaScore from opening weekend moviegoers, which could help it along its run, especially with little to no competition opening during the rest of January. Overseas, Mean Girls brought in an additional $6.50 million for a grand total worldwide opening of $34.50 million against a reported production budget of $36 million.
Time will tell if 2024’s Mean Girls will be able to match the success of the 2004 original. That version opened in first place with $24.43 million domestically and went on to gross $130.13 million worldwide against a modest production budget of $18 million. As for this remake, we’ll have a much better idea of its expected box office run after seeing how it fares over its second weekend. Still, given that it’s already nearly matched its its price tag in just its debut weekend, that’s not a bad way for it to start.
In the runner-up spot, Amazon MGM Studios’s The Beekeeper opened with an expectations-matching $16.79 million domestically. The Jason Statham action vehicle debuted in 3,303 locations, earning a per-theater average of $5,082. The action thriller, which is directed by David Ayer, earned an additional $2.8 million internationally, pushing its total global debut to $19.59 million. While the moderately positive reception from critics and “B+” CinemaScore from opening weekend moviegoers could help give the film solid box office legs over the course of its run, it still has a bit of ways to go before it’s able to meet its reported production budget ranging between $50-60 million.
Finishing in third, Warner Bros.’s Wonka took in $8.38 million domestically over its fifth weekend in release, pushing its total domestic run to $176.19 million. This marks a respectable -40.5% drop from its previous weekend frame, earning a per-theater average of $2,504 at 3,346 locations. Internationally, the musical fantasy film, starring Academy Award nominee Timothee Chalamet, has nearly doubled its domestic performance with $329.10 million. Altogether, the film has now crossed the half billion plateau with a worldwide gross of $505.29 million against a reported production budget of $125 million.
In fourth place, Columbia Pictures’s Anyone but You, received an impressive drop of just -28.8% from its prior frame, earning a fourth weekend total of $6.94 domestically for a domestic cume of $55.18 million. The rom-com was still able to receive such a soft fall despite dropping -120 locations, earning a per-theater average of $2,364 at 2,935 locations. Internationally, the film brought in an additional $22.80 million, pushing its total worldwide performance to $77.98 million against a reported production budget of $25 million.
Rounding out the top five, Universal and Illumination’s Migration continued its solid run over its fourth weekend in release. The animated adventure comedy took in $6.19 million domestically, pushing its domestic total so far to $85.76 million. This marks a modest drop of -38.1% from its prior frame, earning a per-theater average $1,919 at 3,224 locations. Internationally, the film has nearly matched its domestic outing with $86.86 million for a global cume that is slowly but surely closing in on the $200 million mark with $172.62 million against a reported production budget of $72 million.
Outside the top five, Universal’s Night Swim suffered a sophomore weekend drop from second to seventh place, taking in $4.66 million domestically for a domestic cume that currently stands at $19.17 million. This marks a hefty -60.5% drop from its opening weekend frame, earning a per-theater average of $1,430 at 3,257 locations. For comparison, last year’s M3GAN – Universal’s first team-up with Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster – dropped only -39.8% from its debut frame and earned nearly quadruple Night Swim’s second weekend total with $18.31 million. Overseas, the supernatural horror flick earned an additional $10.56 million, which pushes its total worldwide run so far to $29.73 million against a reported production budget of $15 million.
Lastly, near the edge of the top ten in ninth place, TriStar Pictures’s The Book of Clarence debuted with $2.58 million domestically, falling short of its pre-release expectations of $7 million. The Biblical satire dramedy, which stars Academy Award nominee LaKeith Stanfield, opened in 2,010 locations, earning a per-theater average of $1,281. As of now, the film’s international earnings have yet to be reported. While word of mouth could help The Book of Clarence’s continued run thanks to the moderately positive reception it’s received from both critics and moviegoers, it still has quite a long way to go before matching its reported price tag of $40 million.
Opening this weekend, Bleecker Street will open I.S.S., their sci-fi thriller starring Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, John Gallagher, Jr. and Chris Messina.
* Total estimated worldwide gross listed in parenthesis, new releases listed in bold.
1) Mean Girls – $28.0 million, Week 1 ($34.50 million)
2) The Beekeeper – $16.79 million, Week 1 ($19.59 million)
3) Wonka – $8.38 million, Week 5 ($505.29 million)
4) Anyone but You – $6.94 million, Week 4 ($77.98 million)
5) Migration – $6.19 million, Week 4 ($172.62 million)
6) Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – $5.27 million, Week 4 ($373.73 million)
7) Night Swim – $4.66 million, Week 2 ($29.73 million)
8) The Boys in the Boat – $3.53 million, Week 3 ($39.72 million)
9) The Book of Clarence – $2.58 million, Week 1 ($2.58 million)
10) The Iron Claw – $2.40 million, Week 4 ($29.30 million)
About Post Author
