The winter storm Gerri impacted theaters in the Midwest over the weekend, forcing some closures. However, Paramount’s “Mean Girls” managed to maintain its momentum in the region, earning $32 million in its 4-day opening weekend. The film brought in $9.6 million on Saturday, a 17% decrease from Friday. Despite the storm’s impact, there is confidence that business will recover once the Midwest thaws out. The storm did not affect the film’s performance in Boston, where it overperformed. In Buffalo, a few theaters closed due to a no-travel mandate, but the last show ended at 4:30 pm. Paramount took a unique approach to promoting “Mean Girls,” dropping the original 2004 movie on TikTok in 23 parts on October 3rd, which is celebrated as “Mean Girls Day.” The film also beat the box office performance of the original 2004 movie and the current musical hit “Wonka.” The upper Midwest accounted for 9% of “Mean Girls” business, while Toronto ranked No. 17 on its opening day. Winter Storm Gerri is expected to hit New England, but the hope is that it does not impact attendance in Boston, one of the film’s top cities.
Amazon MGM’s “The Beekeeper,” starring Jason Statham, earned $6.7 million on Friday and is eyeing a $19.2 million opening weekend. The film received a B+ rating and positive exits from audiences. It attracted 62% male moviegoers, with 42% falling between the ages of 18 and 34. The movie is performing well in the West, South Central, South, and Midwest regions. Legendary’s “The Book of Clarence” is currently in tenth place, with a projected $3 million 4-day total. It received a B Cinemascore and was positioned towards faith-based and Black moviegoers. Disney re-released Pixar’s “Soul” in 1,350 theaters, but the film is expected to make around $516,000 over the 4-day weekend. The highest-grossing Japanese language live-action or animated movie in the US/Canada, “Godzilla Minus One,” has crossed $50 million at the domestic box office.
Overall, the MLK weekend box office is estimated to be around $120.9 million, a 3% decrease from the previous year.