Box Office Breakdown for Weekend of 1/28/24
What’s up, Geeks + Gamers? It’s ODIN!
The Beekeeper Knocks Mean Girls From #1 in Abysmal Box Office Weekend
The old expression “January is where films go to die” has taken on new meaning in 2024 with some of the worst box office weekends in the last few years. Though many in the media are quick to blame the lack of new releases, the lack of quality amongst most modern Hollywood films is also a factor that cannot be ignored. With that being said, it appears that Mean Girls has finally been knocked out of the #1 spot by Jason Statham’s The Beekeeper.
According to the-numbers.com, the top 5 this weekend were:
- The Beekeeper: $7,421,382 (14% drop from last week)
- Mean Girls: $7,300,000 (37% drop)
- Wonka: $5,910,000 (12% drop)
- Migration: $5,150,000 (6% drop)
- Anyone But You: $4,800,000 (11% drop)
The Truth and Lies About the January Box Office
Before jumping into the weekend breakdown, let me first talk about the month of January and the common misconceptions about this dismal month at the box office. Most studios try to release some of their biggest films at various parts of the year when people are more likely to spend more money and when many are off from work and school. Obviously, the Christmas season is the last opportunity not only for an increase in box office revenue but also a time when studios try to get any films they want to be considered for awards contention out to the public. Since most studios follow this practice, by the time January comes around, a couple of things happen: general audiences start to save their money, and studios take a small break from releasing their films. This combination of factors has led to the notorious expression about the curse of January. The biggest misconception with this, however, is that the month has a bad history because of the studios rather than the audiences. The best modern example of this was the $30 million opening weekend for the film M3GAN two years ago. The spin that many in the box office media try to push is that, somehow, a weekend has the power to make or break a movie’s box office success. The reality is that the quality of the film, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns have a much bigger impact. If a movie fails, it’s on the studio the vast majority of the time.
Mean Girls (2024) vs. The Beekeeper
With no new wide releases this week, the only battle worth mentioning (and it’s hardly worth it) is between Mean Girls and The Beekeeper. Mean Girls was finally kicked from the #1 to the #2 spot, but still had a strong hold from the previous week. As I mentioned in last week’s article, this 2024 remake of the now classic 2004 film still trails the original when adjusted for inflation, with the gap now being over $30 million. Though the film is still on track to break even, this is definitely not a box office win for Paramount. Using the “random crazy charting” or RCC method, neither film is likely to make any actual profit while in theaters. In the case of Mean Girls, with a reported $36 million budget and the majority of its money coming from the domestic market, it is currently still $14 million in the red. Though this is far from insurmountable, it’s twice as much in losses as the regular charting.
For The Beekeeper, the issue is the international performance, as most of its money is coming from overseas. Though it recently crossed $100 million worldwide, with the split in revenues, it is still roughly $11 million in the red. Based on the tracking, this film is in a much better position to make its money back for a couple of reasons: it is holding very well across the world, and its budget (though still unknown) is likely a manageable size. One last key factor is noting that, because Miramax was the primary production company behind The Beekeeeper, Amazon’s MGM is off the hook for at least that possible $40 million in costs. The real questions are, what kind of deal was struck between the two groups and what does that mean for their bottom line? Regardless, if we look at the film through a myopic lens, it will likely make a very small profit.
Godzilla is King
The last film I want to talk about is Godzilla Minus One, which received a special “Black and White” release this past weekend. At only 535 screens, according to the-numbers.com, the film made $2,600,000 nine weeks after its initial release. This breaks down to nearly $5,000 per theater, which is more than double what each film in the top 5 this week made per theater. This is truly a testament to how great Godzilla Minus One is and how many people are still going back to see this film multiple times.
If you want more box office numbers and analysis, check out the full chart over at my website. Stay tuned for more box office coverage soon! God bless!
(If you ever want further insight into my methodology see my previous articles HERE and HERE.)
