M3GAN is slaying the box office and is already off to a frighteningly good opening weekend, pulling in $2.75 million just from its Thursday premiere. Universal has predicted that the film will accumulate $17 million over the weekend, and should be able to make over $20 million total. For the M3GAN franchise, this is great news as the film took $12 million to produce, and it’s already well-on track to doubling its budget.
Part of M3GAN’s rapid success is due to a brilliant marketing strategy, which included a Twitter battle between M3GAN and Chucky, an army of M3GANs taking over an NFL halftime show, and a bunch of M3GANs performing a choreographed dance to Taylor Swift’s song “It’s Nice to Have a Friend.” M3GAN’s appearance in the film is eerie, as she embodies artificial traits as well as life-like ones. M3GAN’s unique appearance was achieved by combining a physical performance by Amie Donald, special makeup effects, and digitally-altered visual effects. Jenna Davis provides the doll’s voice.
Ever since the first trailer dropped back in October, M3GAN has become one of the most highly-anticipated movies of 2023. While the killer doll trope is certainly not a new concept to Hollywood, M3GAN offers a refreshing take on a familiar horror concept by placing it in our current climate of advancing technology and the rise of artificial intelligence. M3GAN does not elicit the familiar fear of a possessed doll, but rather introduces the audience to a new fear of artificial intelligence taking over.
So far, critics have given M3GAN a rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is Blumhouse’s second best-reviewed horror film since Get Out, which premiered in 2017. Projections estimate that M3GAN will take the second spot behind Avatar: The Way of Water, as it's already in position for the biggest opening weekend since James Cameron’s sci-fi hit opened. Avatar has dominated theaters for almost a month, but has seen earnings decrease significantly over the past couple weeks. This week the sequel is expected to bring in between $30 million to $35 million, a roughly 50% decrease from last week. As Avatar’s time in theaters is drawing to a close, it appears that M3GAN is here to take the spotlight.
M3GAN is directed by Gerard Johnstone and written by Akela Cooper, developed from a story by Cooper and James Wan. The plot follows Gemma, a robotic scientist who works at a toy company that engineers artificially intelligent dolls called M3GAN. M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, as she programmed to be a child’s companion and a parent’s ally. Gemma brings M3GAN home, and M3GAN develops an unhealthy protectiveness over Gemma and her niece Cady (Violet McGraw). M3GAN’s actions become increasingly violent and disturbing as she becomes hostile to anyone who comes between her and Cady and Gemma. The film stars Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Kimberley Crossman, Brian Jordan Alvarez, and Jen Brown.
M3GAN is currently in theaters. Checkout the official trailer below: