鈥淟isa Frankenstein 鈥� didn鈥檛 come to life at the North American box office in its first weekend in theaters. 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 on a very slow Super Bowl weekend, behind the spy thriller 鈥淎rgylle.鈥�
Matthew Vaugn鈥檚 鈥� Argylle 鈥� got first place with only $6.5 million, which brings its running domestic total to $28.8 million in two weekends. The $200 million production is Apple鈥檚 first major theatrical flop. Universal Pictures oversaw the North American release for the streamer, where it is playing in 3,605 locations. Globally, it鈥檚 earned $60.1 million to date.
Focus Features released 鈥淟isa Frankenstein鈥� in 3,144 locations. A 1980s-set teenage riff on Mary Shelly鈥檚 classic tale, 鈥淟isa Frankenstein鈥� was the directorial debut of Robin Williams鈥� daughter Zelda Williams. Reviews overall were mixed to negative with a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. AP鈥檚 Mark Kennedy wrote in his review that it was 鈥渁 real monster 鈥� stitched together from previous movies, painfully incoherent and deeply, deeply dumb.鈥�
Audiences were mostly 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 movie is set in the same universe as 鈥淛ennifer鈥檚 Body,鈥� which was written by Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. That film underwhelmed on its release in 2009 with critics and audiences but has gained appreciation and a cult cache in the past 15 years.
鈥淭he Beekeeper鈥� landed in third place in its fifth weekend with an additional $3.4 million. The faith-based 鈥淭he Chosen鈥� series, showing its fourth season鈥檚 first three episodes, placed fourth with $3.2 million while 鈥淲onka鈥� rounded out the top five with $3.1 million.
Overall, it鈥檚 likely to be the slowest weekend of the year to date with around $40 million industry-wide down nearly 25% from last year. The big football game isn鈥檛 entirely to blame either 鈥� in the years prior to the pandemic, the same weekend was able to generate over $75 million. And things aren鈥檛 likely to pick up significantly until 鈥� Dune: Part Two 鈥� opens on March 1.
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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
