"People tend to treat musicals differently"- Paramount's Marc Weinstock on not labeling Mean Girls a musical

The new Mean Girls, an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, which, in turn, was based on Mark Waters' 2004 comedy film, has hit the market and created quite a bit of fanfare for itself. However, this result required some effort from Paramount's marketing team, who had to steer clear of the word "musical."

Though Mean Girls (2024) is a musical and had almost every element that made the Broadway show a hit, Paramount's president of global marketing, Marc Weinstock, explained in a recent interview to Variety why they had to keep the word "musical" out of the context.

He said:

"To start off saying musical, musical, musical, you have the potential to turn off audiences...I want everyone to be equally excited."

He continued:

"We didn’t want to run out and say it’s a musical because people tend to treat musicals differently."

Weinstock further explained how he and Paramount treated the marketing procedure to get optimum results, though some tactics were allegedly misunderstood.

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"It could be considered a musical, but it appeals to a larger audience"- Marc Weinstock on the latest Mean Girls

Mean Girls already has an existing fanbase, and the new film introduces it to a new generation. However, according to Weinstock, his movie is much more than just its musical aspect. He expanded on not marketing the project as a musical despite adapting from a Broadway production, saying:

"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."

Weinstock also addressed their misunderstood marketing tactic, where they used the slogan "This is not your mother’s ‘Mean Girls," which effectively became a source of controversy, especially for hardcore fans of the original movie.

He clarified:

"People kind of misconstrued it and took offense. All we meant to say was that it’s a new twist. People took it literally. “What do you mean? I’m not a mom!” We moved away from that and toward “A new twist from Tina Fey.” It’s her vision, and it’s fantastic."

The new film has received generally favorable reviews from critics, with most claiming that it has enough material to stand out from the original.

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Mean Girls (2024) stars Angourie Rice in the role of Cady Heron, which was originally played by Lindsay Lohan. The other stars include Reneé Rapp as Regina George, Auliʻi Cravalho as Janis 'Imi'ike, Jaquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard, Avantika as Karen Shetty, Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners, and Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury, among many others.

As of now, the film is playing in theatres across the United States.