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Have Plastics found their rival?
It’s too early to tell, but Paramount’s musical “Mean Girls” is practically tied with Amazon MGM’s “The Beekeeper” in this unusually close box office battle.
Amazon MGM reports that “The Beekeeper” took first place with $7.4 million from 3,337 theaters in its third weekend of release. Meanwhile, Paramount reports that the musical “Mean Girls” has grossed $7.3 million and could win the weekend for the third time… once the final numbers are tabulated on Monday.
Either way, it’s a sad time for the box office. It’s the second weekend in a row without a major new studio release, meaning January ends with a whimper. The spy comedy “Argylle” (from Apple and Universal) opens February 2, while the comic book adaptation “Madame Web” (from Sony) and the biographical musical “Bob Marley: One Love” (from Paramount) debut the 14th of February. But movie attendance isn’t expected to increase in earnest until Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune Part II” arrives in March.
“(Attendance in) 2024 will be uneven for the first half,” predicts David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “The actors’ strike ended 11 weeks ago. The industry cannot snap its fingers and offer huge films on a dime. They will return in time and the release schedule will be completed.”
“Mean Girls” has generated $60.8 million to date, a decent result given the film’s modest $36 million budget.
David Ayer’s action thriller “The Beekeeper” has so far grossed $41.6 million. The film stars Jason Statham as a former agent who takes revenge on his friend.
Given the hiatus, the domestic box office charts look nearly identical to last weekend, with Timothee Chalamet’s “Wonka” in third place, Universal and Illumination’s animated “Migration” in fourth place and Sony’s romantic comedy “Anyone.” But You” rounding out the top five.
“Wonka” has remained in the top three for Seven consecutive weekends. It’s a stunning ode to the permanence of musical comedy, as well as a sign of the complete lack of competition. “Wonka” grossed $5.9 million in 3,014 theaters for a domestic gross of $195 million.
“Migration” crossed the $100 million mark after grossing $5 million in 2,962 theaters this weekend.
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s R-rated film “Anyone but You” grossed $4.8 million from 2,885 theaters. After six opening weekends, it has grossed $71.1 million domestically and $100.2 million worldwide.
Elsewhere, the Oscar nominations gave a slight boost to the box office of contenders like “Poor Things,” “American Fiction” and “The Zone of Interest.”
Searchlight’s offbeat comedy “Poor Things,” from director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone, grossed $2.8 million from 2,300 theaters after earning 11 Academy Award nominations. Those ticket sales mark a 32% increase over the previous weekend and bring the film’s gross to $24.5 million.
Jonathan Glazer’s disturbing Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest” grossed $1.08 million on just 317 screens over the weekend. It has raised $3 million to date.
More to come…