Mean Girls 2024 movie takes viewers on a tour of New Jersey with its various filming sites across the Garden State.
Shooting took place at several recognizable locales including Saint Elizabeth University in Florham Park, which stands in as the interior of high school attended by Cady Heron and her friends.
Directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr from the screenplay Tina Fey, the musical teen comedy film stars Angourice Rice as Cady Heron, a sixteen years old homechooled girl moves back to the United States from Kenya after her mother attends North Shore High School.
The musical comedy brings back Tina Fey, Lorne Miachels, and Jeff Richmond as screenwriter, producer, and composer. Rachel McAdams was also expected to make a cameo appearance with Fey but, it didn’t work out.
Now, let’s look at the shooting details and find out where was Mean Girls filmed.
Mean Girls 2024 Filming Locations
The 2024 comedy film “Mean Girls” was entirely filmed in New Jersey, primarily at high schools and universities across the northern part of the state.
Principal shooting began on 7th of March 2023 as per Collider’s report, while the shooting wrapped on April 25 in the same year, Bebe Wood shared on her Instagram.
Saint Elizabeth University, Florham Park, NJ
Saint Elizabeth University in Florham Park served as a major filming location for the shooting of interior scenes in the new Mean Girls movie. (Interior of North Shore High School)
The private Roman Catholic university has a beautiful suburban campus featuring grand Gothic architecture. Various scenes were filmed inside buildings at Saint Elizabeth University.
According to local reports, the cast and crew filmed in one of the science labs, the library, and various classrooms around campus
Dolan Performance Hall was used to film the stage scenes, where is the perfect location for musical performances, dance recitals, lectures, trainings and large-scale business meetings.
The university’s picturesque green spaces and walkways can be spotted as backdrops in many scenes.
Delbarton School, Morristown, New Jersey
Production team of Mean Girls 2024 spent two days shooting scenes at the all-male Delbarton School. This real Catholic college preparatory school is located in Morristown, New Jersey.
Delbarton School dates back to 1939 and features gorgeous historic architecture amidst a sprawling 230-acre property.
The stately Abbey Church on campus offers a particularly impressive backdrop.
It’s likely we’ll see Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and others walking the same halls that Delbarton’s real-life students do!
North Arlington Landfill
In a change of pace from the polished prep schools, the movie also filmed at an actual landfill! The River Road landfill in North Arlington served as an unconventional shooting location over the course of one day.
Not many details have been shared about what exactly was filmed at the landfill. But given Mean Girls’ offbeat sense of humor, we can surely expect an entertaining and hilarious scene set at the garbage dump.
Mater Dei Prep (North Shore High School Location)
The Mean Girls crew also paid a visit to Mater Dei Prep, a Roman Catholic high school in Middletown, New Jersey.
With sprawling sports fields, charming brick buildings and impressive modern architecture, the school boasts photogenic backdrops for filming.
Reports indicate that the filming took place early in the morning before students arrived at school.
It’s likely that Mater Dei stands in for the main characters’ high school, that is North Shore High School, within the movie plot.
A Private Home in Woodbridge
In addition to the various academic institutions, shooting also took place at a private home in suburban Woodbridge, New Jersey.
The exact details of this location and what scenes were shot there remain tightly under wraps.
But with Woodbridge’s classic residential neighborhoods full of beautiful Colonials and quaint Cape Cods, almost any house here could make a picture-perfect setting!
NJ is a less popular location as compared to London, where most of the recent movies have been filmed, including your favorite Jason Statham’s The Beekeeper and Criminal Record.
Experience the Magic of the Mean Girls franchise
The new Mean Girls once again highlights some of the hidden gems scattered throughout northern New Jersey.
From prominent prep schools to cozy suburban homes, the settings fit perfectly with the lifestyle of the wealthy high school characters.
As a visitor or local resident, you may just find yourself doing double-takes throughout this region of New Jersey!
The filming locations in the original 2004 comedy have gone on to become pop culture landmarks for fans. In fact, tourists still flock to see them in Toronto nearly twenty years later.
Perhaps the Staten Island Mall food court, where the famous cafeteria scenes were taped will one day reach that same iconic status!
Though not featured in the new sequel, the instantly recognizable mall remains a must-see for diehard Gretchen Wieners wannabes.
Mean Girls 2024 Cast
- Angourie Rice as Cady Heron
- Reneé Rapp as Regina George, a rich leader of The Plastics
- Auliʻi Cravalho as Janis ‘Imi’ike, Cady and Damian’s friend
- Jaquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard, Janis’s best friend
- Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury, the school Math teacher
- Avantika as Karen Shetty, a member of the Plastics
- Jenna Fischer as Ms. Heron, Cady’s mother
- Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners, a member of the Plastics
- Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels, Regina’s ex-boyfriend
- Tim Meadows as Principal Duval
- Busy Philipps as Mrs. George, Regina’s mother
Where to watch new Mean Girls movie?
Mean Girls 2024, the sequel to the 2004 cult classic comedy, premiered in New York City on January 8th, 2024. After a positive reception from test audiences, Paramount Pictures decided to switch the film from a streaming-only Paramount+ release to a wide theatrical release.
The film already opened in Australia on January 11th and hit US theaters on January 12th. UK fans will be able to catch Mean Girls 2024 when it releases there on January 17th.
