'Mean Girls' is the Queen Bee of the box office, opens to $28 million

You go, Glen Coco.

Paramount’s “Mean Girls,” a musical film adaptation of the Broadway show and beloved 2004 film of the same name, opened to an estimated $28 million at the domestic box office, on its way to a $32 million take for the holiday weekend.

The haul comes in on the high end of expectations and exceeds the $24.4 million opening that the Lindsay Lohan-led original snared two decades earlier. It’s particularly impressive considering Paramount had initially commissioned the $36 million-budgeted film for a straight-to-streaming release.

“It seems that ‘Mean Girls’ in any format and on every platform has a message that resonates strongly with audiences,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Whether as a feature film comedy, a Broadway musical or a new big screen adaptation, Tina Fey’s vision for these characters has truly struck a chord with audiences some two decades after the release of the original on the big screen.”

The movie musical genre has struggled to appeal to moviegoers in recent years, but with Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” and “The Color Purple” alongside the new adaptation of “Mean Girls” it seems like audiences have reversed course.

Combine the musical talent and charisma of star Renee Rapp with the pervasive nostalgia of the original film, and the new “Mean Girls” had a lot to offer cinemagoers over the weekend.

“The success of Mean Girls this weekend is a case study in nostalgia successfully paired with a fresh and modern hook for today’s female audience,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “Many who grew up with the original film returned for this revival alongside younger audiences and fans of the Broadway musical.”

The film skewed toward the female audience, with 75% of ticket sales being bought by women, but played well outside of the teen demographic, said Steve Buck, of movie data firm EntTelligence. In fact, the biggest percentage of ticket sales were for those aged 26 to 35, who accounted for 34% of all opening weekend ticket sales. Meanwhile, the coveted 18 to 25 demographic represented 26% of ticket sales.

“This is another showcase of how important it is for Hollywood to embrace Gen Z alongside their fellow Millennial moviegoers as the two key demographics driving theatrical box office right now,” said BoxOffice.com’s Robbins. “The cinema is a communal hub, and what’s more communal than the marriage of music with movies? Mean Girls is truly an [intellectual property] that’s evolved into a multi-threat pop culture standout.”