Lisa Frankenstein is a 2024 American comedy horror film directed by Zelda Williams, in her feature-length directorial debut, and written by Diablo Cody. The film stars Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, and Carla Gugino. The plot follows a misunderstood teenage goth girl who meets and develops a relationship with a reanimated Victorian-era corpse. Cody stated that Lisa Frankenstein is set in the same fictional universe as Jennifer's Body.
Lisa Frankenstein was released in the United States by Focus Features on February 9, 2024. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Production
Diablo Cody wrote the script for Lisa Frankenstein, and she announced that she would be producing the film with collaborator Mason Novick in June 2022. Zelda Williams makes her feature-length debut as the director of the film starring Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse. Further casting announcements of Liza Soberano, Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest, and Henry Eikenberry were also unveiled in August 2022, around the time when production began filming in New Orleans which was expected to run until September.
Some writers covering the film have theorized that its title is an amalgamation of "Lisa Frank", a company known for producing brightly colored stickers and school supplies, and Frankenstein. However, Cody has stated that this play on words was unintentional. In actuality, the titular character's name is an homage to a character in the 1985 John Hughes-directed film Weird Science, since, like Lisa Frankenstein, it features protagonists who bring their fantasy love interests to life
Box office
In the United States and Canada, Lisa Frankenstein was projected to gross $4–6 million from 3,144 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $1.7 million on its first day, including $700,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $3.8 million, finishing second behind holdover Argylle. In its second weekend the film made $2.1 million, falling to ninth place.