Why MEAN GIRLS Was Not Marketed as a Musical: 'You Have the Potential to Turn Off Audiences'

After two trailers not featuring music from the film, the new film adaptation of Mean Girls was not explicitly sold to general audiences as a musical.

After its triumphant opening at the box office, Variety reports that Paramount elected not to market the film as a musical, in an effort to not "turn off audiences."

"To start off saying musical, musical, musical, you have the potential to turn off audiences," the studio’s president of global marketing, Marc Weinstock, says. "I want everyone to be equally excited."

While the film's logo includes a musical note on the A in "Mean," the exec says that since musicals are treated "differently," the avoided explicitly telling a broad audience that it included Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin's score.

"We didn’t want to run out and say it’s a musical because people tend to treat musicals differently. This movie is a broad comedy with music. Yes, it could be considered a musical but it appeals to a larger audience. You can see in [trailers for] 'Wonka' and 'The Color Purple,' they don’t say musical either. We have a musical note on the title, so there are hints to it without being overbearing."

While the new film features original stars Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, and a special appearance by Lindsay Lohan, the movie features a new cast, including Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Christopher Briney, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, and Ashley Park.

"Our first teaser was Reneé Rapp to the camera singing 'My name is Regina George.' It did so much for us because immediately it said, 'This is your new Regina. Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams are not in this movie.' We did have Tim [Meadows] and Tina in the slots to show familiarity," the exec said about bringing a new Mean Girls to the general public.

The movie musical adaptation of Mean Girls is now playing in theaters. Check out the soundtrack, including a bonus track by Reneé Rapp, here.

Photo: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures. 

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