In a slow weekend at the North American box office, the horror comedy “Lisa Frankenstein” failed to come to life, earning a disappointing $3.8 million in its debut. The film, written by Diablo Cody and directed by Zelda Williams, is a 1980s-set teenage twist on Mary Shelley's classic tale. Despite its modest production budget of $13 million, “Lisa Frankenstein” opened in second place, behind the spy thriller "Argylle."
"Argylle," directed by Matthew Vaughn, took the top spot with only $6.5 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $28.8 million. This marked a major disappointment for Apple, as it was their first major theatrical release and had a production budget of $200 million. Universal Pictures oversaw the film's North American release on behalf of the streaming platform, with “Argylle” playing in 3,605 locations. Globally, the film has earned $60.1 million to date.
“Lisa Frankenstein” was released by Focus Features in 3,144 locations and received mixed to negative reviews, earning a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. AP's Mark Kennedy described the film as "a real monster - stitched together from previous movies, painfully incoherent and deeply, deeply dumb." Despite the negative reception, the film attracted a predominantly female audience (61%) and viewers under the age of 35 (71%), according to exit data.
While the Super Bowl may have contributed to the slow weekend, the overall lack of momentum in the movie marketplace was also a factor. This year's Super Bowl weekend generated only around $40 million industry-wide, down nearly 25% from the previous year. In comparison, in 2009, the Liam Neeson film “Taken” made $24.7 million, and in 2015, “American Sniper” brought in $30.7 million.
Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore, attributed the low box office numbers to various factors, including the unique attention on this year's Super Bowl, which he described as "the center of attention for the world of entertainment." He also noted that there was only one new movie release and little momentum in the movie marketplace.
Looking ahead, Dergarabedian expects the box office to recover with the release of bigger movies such as "Bob Marley: One Love" and "Madame Web." However, significant improvement is not anticipated until the release of "Dune: Part Two" on March 1.
In the meantime, “The Beekeeper” secured third place in its fifth weekend, earning an additional $3.5 million. The faith-based series “The Chosen” debuted its fourth season's first three episodes and placed fourth with $3.2 million, while “Wonka” rounded out the top five with $3.1 million.
Overall, it was a lackluster weekend for the box office, but industry experts remain optimistic about its eventual recovery.
