At least one audience got a good laugh during their screening of the new “Mean Girls” reboot.
To the chagrin of the film’s creators, the movie-goers weren’t laughing at a well-crafted joke or intentionally funny scene, but rather at the movie itself.
The main reason for this? It appears audiences may have been caught off guard by the fact that the reboot is a musical.
According to Variety, the “Mean Girls” marketing campaign “intentionally downplayed” that, unlike its predecessor, 2024’s “Mean Girls” features characters spontaneously breaking out into song.
Many filmgoers are likely unaware that the 2024 film is based on a Broadway musical which is in turn based on the 2004 film written by SNL alum Tina Fey.
One studio marketer told The Hollywood Reporter that the studio’s lack of transparency regarding the film’s genre was intentional and “nothing new.”
Studios often fear that marketing a film as a musical will scare off potential ticket buyers.
So, audiences were left to discover that surprise for themselves upon entering theaters.
One clip of this revelation, and the mix of audience laughter and groans that followed, went viral on X before being pulled down.
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The clip racked up 37.6 million views in just under one week.
In the video, the audience is silent as tension builds during a quiet moment.
Then, all of a sudden, the “Mean Girls” lead, actress Angourie Rice, breaks out into song.
As this happens, the audience can be heard breaking out in a mixture of equally loud groans and boisterous laughs.
According to Paramount exit polls shared with Variety, the “Mean Girls” audience captured in the video was far from the only one to be caught off guard this week.
Data from Paramount exit polls shows that only 75 percent of audiences knew the film was a musical going in.
A substantial 16 percent were “disappointed” by the revelation.
Despite some negative audience reactions, the film seems to have had a decent opening weekend, raking in $28 million.
However, it’s unclear how much of that success was simply due to name recognition and association with the wildly popular 2004 version.
Next weekend will be the movie’s true test.
If it can sustain a decent box office hold, it may yet prove successful.
If not, “Mean Girls” will be yet another disappointment in a long line of Hollywood box office failures.
