Paramount has announced a sequel to the hit horror film “Smile,” as well as a platform shift for the upcoming “Mean Girls” musical movie.
“Mean Girls,” which is based on the Tony-nominated Broadway musical adapted from the iconic 2004 movie (which made $130 million at the box office) was planned to debut on Paramount+, but will now get a wide theatrical release on Jan. 12, 2024. “Bob Marley: One Love,” which stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as the late reggae legend, was scheduled to hit theaters on that date, but now moves to a wide release on Feb. 14, 2024.
Reneé Rapp, Angourie Rice, Jaquel Spivey and Auli’i Cravalho star in the new “Mean Girls” movie. Rapp played Regina George in the Broadway musical and reprises her role, while Rice, Spivey and Cravalho will play Cady, Damian and and Janis, respectively. The cast also features Tina Fey and Tim Meadows, who return from the first film, as well as Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, Avantika, Mahi Alam, Christopher Briney, Bebe Wood, Ashley Park, Connor Ratliff and Jon Hamm. Arturo Perez and and Samantha Jayne direct from a script by Fey, who penned the original film and stage musical. The music is by Jeff Richmond with lyrics from Nell Benjamin.
The schedule shift is reminiscent of last year’s, when the studio shifted “Smile” from a Paramount+ launch to a theatrical release, which paid off immensely at the box office — to the tune of $217 million. Paramount has officially dated a sequel to “Smile” for Oct. 18, 2024.
“The Tiger’s Apprentice,” which was dated for Jan. 19, 2024 has been officially removed from the theatrical release schedule and will premiere exclusively on Paramount+.