'Lisa Frankenstein' struggles to electrify box office on a sleepy Super Bowl weekend

"Lisa Frankenstein" didn't 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 "Argylle."

Matthew Vaugn's "Argylle" 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's first major theatrical flop. Globally, it's earned $60.1 million to date.

"Lisa Frankenstein," a 1980s-set teenage riff on Mary Shelley's classic tale, was the directorial debut of Robin Williams' daughter Zelda Williams. Reviews overall were mixed to negative: 49% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. USA TODAY's Brian Truitt gave it two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying the film's "lively characters and clever, sardonic dialogue" gave it "a boost when the narrative threatens to fall apart."

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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 "Jennifer's Body," 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.

"The Beekeeper" landed in third place in its fifth weekend with an additional $3.5 million. The faith-based "The Chosen" series, showing its fourth season's first three episodes, placed fourth with $3.2 million while "Wonka" rounded out the top five with $3.1 million.

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Overall, it's 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't entirely to blame, either: In the years prior to the pandemic, the same weekend was able to generate more than $75 million. In 2009, the Liam Neeson movie "Taken" went head-to-head with 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, senior media analyst for Comscore, attributes this to a number of factors, including the unique attention on this year's game which, he says, "has become the center of attention for the world of entertainment."

"There was only one new movie and there's been so little momentum in this movie marketplace," he says. "It should come as no surprise that, at least in the modern era, this is the lowest-grossing Super Bowl weekend that we've seen."

Dergarabedian adds: "I don't think anyone wanted to take a chance releasing a big wide release this weekend."

This week brings two bigger movies to theaters, "Bob Marley: One Love" and "Madame Web," but things aren't likely to pick up significantly until "Dune: Part Two" opens on March 1.

"This is the natural ebb and flow of things for theaters," Dergarabedian says. "The box office will recover."

Final numbers are expected Tuesday.