The weekend at the US box office is all set and rocking with some notable performances from new releases and last year’s movies still going strong. Here is a recap for the Friday box office.
Jason Statham’s ‘The Beekeeper’ Debuts Strongly
Action thriller ‘The Beekeeper’, starring Jason Statham as a killer on a job, had a strong debut with $6.8 million on Friday, including $2.4 million from Thursday previews.
Directed by David Ayer, the action-packed thriller is expected to earn between $15 to $18 million for the 3-day weekend and $18 to &22 million for the 4-day Martin Luther King (MLK) holiday weekend.
Jason Statham plays a former operative known as ‘The Beekeeper’, who has been living a quiet life, but his past forces him back into violence to protect his loved ones.
The movie released in theatres on January 12th, 2024, with positive reviews for its action set pieces and no-nonsense to-the-point plot drama.
Currently rated 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.8/10 on IMDB, the actioner directed by David Iyer, distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, also stars Josh Hutcherson, Amber Sienna, Emmy-Raver Lampam, Jeremy Irons and others.
‘Mean Girls’ Scores Big on Opening Day
Meanwhile, Paramount’s new musical sequel ‘Mean Girls’ is surpassing industry projections with a solid $11.7 million on its opening Friday, including an excellent $3.3 million from Wednesday and Thursday paid previews.
The musical comedy is now all set to outperform the 2004 original going by the same name, eyeing a $25 to $30 million 3-day weekend and a $30 to $35 million MLK 4-day holiday opening
‘Mean Girls’, directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., stars Renee Rapp (as Regina George), Angourie Rice (Cady Heron), Auli’i Caravalho (Janis), Avantika (Karen Shetty), Jaquel Spivey (Damian Hubbard), Bebe Wood (Gretchen Wieners), Christopher Briney (Aaron Samuels) and others.
‘The Book of Clarence’ Struggles Big Time
On the other hand, “The Book of Clarence” appears to be struggling at the box office with just $1 million on Friday, including $285k from Thursday previews.
With mixed audience reception, it is expected to stay below the $3 million mark for the 3-day weekend and will find it hard to benefit from the MLK 4-day holiday opening at the US Box Office. The movie has already lost a chunk of screens from Saturday onwards with distributors choosing to play the other money-grabber on the holiday period.
‘Wonka’ and ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Friday Box Office
“Wonka,” the musical starring Timothée Chalamet, faced a drop of 58% from the previous Friday, grossing $1.8 million on its 5th Friday, accumulating a total of $169.6 million in the US.
As for “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” it dropped by 63% from the previous Friday, grossing $1.2 million on its 4th Friday.
With $104.1 million grossed in the US so far, the superhero flick will outnumber “The Flash’s” domestic run by Monday.