HOLLYWOOD - Mean Girls, Mean Girls, whatcha gonna do? In a crop of newcomers, it was a bunch of Mean Girls who connived their way to the top of the box office this weekend. The teen comedy, starring Freaky Friday's Lindsay Lohan and written by Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey, debuted at No. 1 with $25 million, knocking last week's champ Man on Fire down to No. 2 with $15.2 million.
"The teenage girl audience has a lot of clout and a lot of discretionary income from somewhere. They've got a lot of fun money and go to see movies in groups," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press.
Other openers the weekend included the romantic comedy Laws of Attraction starring Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan, which debuted in fourth place with $10 million, followed by the creepy Godsend starring Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Greg Kinnear and Robert De Niro, in fifth with $6.9 million and the balls-out comedy Envy, starring Ben Stiller and Jack Black, in sixth with $6.1 million.
The Passion of the Christ star Jim Caviezel's latest film Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius didn't manage to make the top 10 in its premiere weekend, taking in $1.3 million.
This week, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $90.4 million, up 8.26 percent from last week's $83.5 million, but down 36.02 percent from last year's whopping $141.4 million.
Last year, 20th Century Fox's X2: X-Men United debuted huge at No. 1 with $85.5 million at 3,741 theaters with a $22,871 per theater average; Buena Vista's PG-rated The Lizzie McGuire Movie opened in second place with $17.3 million in 2,825 theaters with a $6,138 per theater average; and Sony Picture's R rated thriller Identity dropped to third place in its second week with $9.4 million at 2,733 theaters with a $3,448 per theater average.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Mean Girls (Paramount Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $25 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,839
• Per-theater average: $8,806
No. 2: Man on Fire (20th Century Fox, R)
• Gross: $15.2 million (-33%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,986 (+7)
• Per-theater average: $5,090
• Cume to date: $44.4 million
No. 3: 13 Going on 30 (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $10 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,453 (+15)
• Per-theater average: $2,896
• Cume to date: $35.1 million
No. 4: Laws of Attraction (New Line Cinema, PG-13)
• Gross: $7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,449
• Per-theater average: $2,858
No. 5: Godsend (Lions Gate, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.9 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,323
• Per-theater average: $2,970
No. 6: Envy (DreamWorks, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,445
• Per-theater average: $2,495
No. 7: Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $5.8 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,742 (-331 theaters)
• Per-theater average: $2,119
• Cume to date: $52.6 million
No. 8: The Punisher (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $29.6 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,267 (-382)
• Per-theater average: $1,500
• Cume to date: $29.6 million
No. 9: Home on the Range (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $2.2 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,010 (-471)
• Per-theater average: $1,095
• Cume to date: $45.5 million
No. 10: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $2.1 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,915 (-505)
• Per-theater average: $1,125
• Cume to date: $79.5 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius (Film Foundry, PG)
• Gross: $1.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,332
• Per-theater average: $1,037