Paramount, the studio behind Mean Girls, came under fire for misrepresenting the musical in promotional teasers and trailers.
Mean Girls has almost everyone buzzing. Whether the conversation has been about its basis in reality or the infamous joke about Lindsay Lohan, the musical has kept people talking, that’s for sure.
Despite the hype, the film has ruffled feathers among audiences for hiding the fact it’s a musical in promotional materials. “To start off saying musical, musical, musical, you have the potential to turn off audiences,” Marc Weinstock, president of global marketing and distribution, told Variety. “I want everyone to be equally excited.”
But audiences aren’t buying it. Many took to Twitter/X to express their frustrations and betrayal over how the film was promoted.
Audiences blasted the studio for misrepresenting Mean Girls
Audiences have been quick to take to social media, sharing their feelings over being lied to in the marketing of the film. Many didn’t hold back.
“It’s best to not lie to your potential audience for a film you are marketing,” wrote one user.
“Now this is false advertising,” echoed another.
It’s best to not lie to your potential audience for a film you are marketing.
— Chainsaw Reacts (@ChainsawReacts) January 15, 2024
The comments continued flooding in.
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“Yes because once the film comes out and everyone f*cking finds out the hard way that it’s a musical will be so thrilled,” posted another user.
“‘We didn’t tell customers what they were paying for because if they knew, they wouldn’t buy it,'” said a separate individual.
“So lying is apart of the new film rollouts?!” asked another.
PT Noah said, “They don’t have excuse to give they just scam their fans.”
Yes because once the film comes out and everyone fucking finds out the hard way that it’s a musical will be so thrilled.
— Theunknownyoutuber (@Gokubla32516294) January 15, 2024
“We didn’t tell customers what they were paying for because if they knew, they wouldn’t buy it”
— Ross Reynolds (@reynolds_ross) January 16, 2024
“If people don’t want to see a musical, they aren’t going to like being tricked into seeing a musical,” wrote a user. “You should be clear in your marketing and trust musicals to have an audience.”
Controversy aside, Mean Girls has done decent numbers at the box office. In its opening weekend, the musical scooped up $32 million, domestically, on a $36 million budget. It bested the 2004 original, which bowed with $24.4 million.
