“Lisa Frankenstein” did not take off at the North American box office in its opening weekend. The horror comedy, written by Diablo Cody and starring Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse, earned $3.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. It debuted in second place in a very slow Super Bowl weekend, behind the spy thriller “Argylle.”
Matthew Vaugn’s “Argylle” took the top spot with just $6.5 million, bringing its current two-weekend total to $28.8 million. The $200 million production was Apple’s first major theatrical failure. Universal Pictures is handling the North American release of the streamer, which is playing in 3,605 locations. Worldwide, it has earned $60.1 million to date.
Focus Features released “Lisa Frankenstein” in 3,144 locations. A teenage 1980s riff on Mary Shelley’s classic tale, Lisa Frankenstein is the directorial debut of Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda Williams. Reviews were generally mixed to negative with a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. AP’s Mark Kennedy wrote in his review that it’s “a true monster — a mash-up of previous films, painfully disjointed and deeply, deeply dumb.”
The audience was predominantly female (61%) and under the age of 35 (71%), according to exit data. But while the opening weekend was low, the production budget was also relatively modest at a reported $13 million.
The film is set in the same universe as Jennifer’s Body, which was written by Cody and directed by Karine Kusama. This film was underwhelmed by critics and audiences upon its release in 2009, but has gained acclaim and cult status over the past 15 years.
“The Beekeeper” landed in third place in its fifth weekend with an additional $3.5 million. The cult series “The Chosen Ones,” showing the first three episodes of its fourth season, came in fourth with $3.2 million, while “Wonka” rounded out the top five with $3.1 million.
Overall, it’s likely to be the slowest weekend of the year so far with around $40 million industry-wide down nearly 25% from last year. The big football game isn’t entirely to blame either—in the years before the pandemic, the same weekend managed to generate over $75 million. In 2009, Liam Neeson’s “Taken” went up against the Super Bowl and made $24.7 million. And in 2015, “American Sniper” brought in $30.7 million.
But this year is different. Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst, attributed that to a number of factors, including the unique focus on this year’s game, which, he said, “has become the center of attention for the entertainment world.”
“There was only one new movie and there was so little momentum in that movie market,” he said. “It should come as no surprise that, at least in the modern era, this is the lowest-grossing Super Bowl weekend we’ve seen.”
Dergarabedian added: “I don’t think anyone wanted to risk a big wide release this weekend.”
Two bigger movies hit theaters this week, Bob Marley: One Love and Madame Webb, but things won’t get much better until Dune: Part Two comes out on March 1.
“It’s the natural ebb and flow of theaters,” Dergarabedian said. “The office will recover.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final internal data will be released on Monday.
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Argyle, $6.5 million.
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“Lisa Frankenstein,” $3.8 million.
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“The Beekeeper,” $3.5 million.
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“The Chosen,” $3.2 million.
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“Wonka,” $3.1 million
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“Migration,” $3 million.
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“Everybody But You,” $2.7 million.
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“Mean Girls,” $1.9 million.
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“American Fiction,” $1.3 million.
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“Les Miserables,” $1.1 million.
