Box Office: ‘Mean Girls’ to Dominate Martin Luther King. Jr. Weekend

should do nice business in its debut. Paramount’s movie adaptation of the Broadway musical that was in turn based on the 2004 big screen teen comedy is expected to open to as much as $30 million over the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. That would mark a great start for a studio film that cost a relatively modest $36 million to produce before marketing, not to mention a musical, a genre which has become an endangered species ( aside).

The musical arrives on the big screen 20 years after the Lindsay Lohan led cult classic , which was directed by Mark Waters and written by . Fey returned to pen the script for the new film, which stars Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Bebe Wood and Chris Briney. Fey and Tim Meadows also reprise their roles from the 2004 movie.

Female fueled films — look no further than or — have been doing impressive business at the box office, and hopes to be the latest example. Younger females in particular are known for being repeat viewers, just as fanboys are. The original sports a Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 84 percent; the score for the new film is currently 74 percent from the .

is hardly the only new title on the crowded MLK holiday marquee. Amazon/MGM’s , the latest action pic starring , hopes to serve as counterprogramming for men and is tipped to open in the mid to high teens. Legendary Pictures’ and Sony’s biblical satirical drama , is tracking to open in the single digits, despite a star packed ensemble cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Omar Sy, Alfre Woodard, David Oyelowo and James McAvoy.

Jaymes Samuel directs the Jesus period pic, with Jay Z producing. Disney and are also in the mix this weekend, bringing to the big screen for the first time. It is the that premiered exclusively on Disney+ during the pandemic that are now getting a theatrical release as a way of making sure exhibitors have enough product as the content pipeline slows in the wake of Hollywood’s historic labor strikes.

It’s also an opportunity to promote the trailer for Pixar’s 2024 summer tentpole . There was no major marketing campaign for ‘s theatrical run, and the movie will remain available on Disney+. hits cinemas Feb. 9, followed by on March 22. As the awards race heats up, Amazon and MGM have double duty this weekend when expanding filmmaker ‘s into roughly 600 theaters.

, adapted from Percival Everett’s satirical novel , stars as a frustrated author facing the Black artist’s dilemma. Sterling K. Brown, Leslie Uggams, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Adam Brody co star. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood Reporter.