“Lisa Frankenstein” failed to do well at the North American box office during its first weekend in theaters. The horror comedy, written by Diablo Cody and starring Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse, earned studio estimates of $3.8 million on Sunday. It debuted in second place behind the spy thriller “Argyle” during a very slow Super Bowl weekend.
Matthew Vaughn’s Argyle took first place with just $6.5 million, bringing its domestic total over two weekends to $28.8 million. At a production cost of $200 million, it was Apple’s first theatrical flop. Universal Pictures is overseeing the streamer’s North American release, which is being played in 3,605 locations. To date, it has grossed $60.1 million worldwide.
Focus Features released “Lisa Frankenstein” in 3,144 locations. “Lisa Frankenstein,” her 1980s-set teenager riff on Mary Shelley’s classic story, was the directorial debut of Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda Williams. Overall reviews were negative, with 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press wrote in his review that the film was “a veritable monster, painfully incoherent and deeply stupid, spliced together from previous films.”
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According to exit data, the audience was mostly female (61%) and under 35 years old (71%). However, despite its low box office opening weekend, the film had a relatively modest production budget of a reported $13 million.
The film is set in the same world as Jennifer’s Body, which was written by Kody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film was poorly received by critics and audiences when it was released in 2009, but has grown in acclaim and become a cult favorite over the past 15 years.
“The Beekeeper” added $3.5 million in its fifth weekend to take third place. The faith-based series “The Chosen” screened its first three episodes of season four and came in fourth with $3.2 million, while “Wonka” rounded out the top five with $3.1 million.
Kathryn Newton appears in a scene from “Lisa Frankenstein.” (Focus on features via Michele K. Short/AP)
Overall, industry-wide sales of about $40 million are down nearly 25% from last year, making it likely to be the weakest weekend so far this year. It’s not all the fault of the big football game. In pre-pandemic years, he would have grossed more than $75 million that same weekend. In 2009, Liam Neeson’s film Taken competed against the Super Bowl and grossed $24.7 million. And in 2015, American Sniper grossed $30.7 million.
But this year is different. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, attributed this to a number of factors, including the unique focus on this year’s game, which has “made it the center of attention in the entertainment world.” He said that this also includes.
“There was only one new movie and there wasn’t a lot of momentum in this movie market,” he said. “It’s no surprise that this is the lowest-grossing Super Bowl weekend we’ve ever seen, at least in modern times.”
Dergarabedian added, “I don’t think anyone took a chance on a big wide release this weekend.”
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Two big movies hit theaters this week, Bob Marley: One Love and Madame Web, but things aren’t looking much better until Dune: Part 2 opens on March 1st. Not likely.
“This is a natural ebb and flow for theaters,” Dergarabedian said. “Box office revenue will recover.”
Estimated ticket sales from Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Final national figures will be released on Monday.
- “Argyle,” $6.5 million;
- “Lisa Frankenstein,” $3.8 million.
- “Beekeeper” $3.5 million.
- “The Chosen,” $3.2 million.
- “Wonka” $3.1 million
- “Immigration,” $3 million;
- “Anyone But You,” $2.7 million.
- “Mean Girls,” $1.9 million;
- “American Fiction,” $1.3 million;
- “Poor Thing,” $1.1 million.
