The Beekeeper becomes the No. 1 movie worldwide in its opening weekend despite strong competition from Mean Girls. The Beekeeper is an action movie starring Jason Statham as Adam Clay, a beekeeper who seeks violent revenge for the death by suicide of his friend who fell victim to a phishing scam. Mean Girls, on the other hand, is a musical remake of the 2004 teen comedy of the same name, which took No. 1 over The Beekeeper at the domestic box office on the movies’ simultaneous opening weekend.
Per Deadline, the Beekeeper release has taken No. 1 at the global box office on its opening weekend with a worldwide gross of $37.1 million, including $20.4 million from international markets. This was enough to topple Mean Girls’ domestic lead. The latter title only earned $6.5 million internationally, bringing its global total to $34.5 million.
The Beekeeper’s Global Opening Weekend Success Explained
There are quite a few reasons the R-rated The Beekeeper has topped the global box office despite the PG-13 Mean Girls being open to ticket buyers in a wider age bracket. The first reason is mathematical. The Beekeeper played in 49 international markets, whereas Mean Girls only played in 16, giving it a much smaller range of territories in which to sell tickets.
There is likely a reason for that market disparity, however. Statham is a tested international star who has led or been a co-lead in many global hits, including several installments in the Fast Saga. In fact, he anchored the 2018 hit The Meg, which was an American and Chinese co-production featuring Chinese superstar Li Bingbing. His popularity in China, as well as the more tried-and-true global popularity of the action genre, likely led to the movie playing in this wider spread of markets.
Unlike The Beekeeper, the Mean Girls musical did not center a major international star. Its American high school setting may have also proved a limiting factor for the interest of some international markets. Additionally, while it is an IP-driven movie, the original 2004 comedy had a less robust international run than many of Statham’s previous movies, potentially making it a less globally recognizable title.
