Universal and Atomic Monster’s buzzy horror title M3GAN topped the Friday box office (factoring in Thursday preview figures, of course) but will lose the weekend to holdover hit Avatar: The Way of Water, which is eyeing its fourth weekend at the top of the chart. With $11.7 million on Friday, including $2.7 million from Thursday previews, M3GAN is expected to finish second in its debut weekend of release, with an estimated $27.5 million.

That’s a tremendous result for the sci-fi horror, which only cost a reported $12 million to produce, and was originally projected to make $10 million less. In a deviation from the norm, the movie also received near-unanimous praise from critics, and scored a B CinemaScore from opening day audiences — horror fans are typically harsher. Universal also utilized unique marketing strategies to promote the movie, generating particular interest on TikTok. Last year, Paramount got excellent results after being similarly creative in its marketing for the hit Smile.

That movie concluded its global run with more than $200 million, while 2022’s other runaway horror hit, Barbarian, made nearly $50 million worldwide, also on the back of inventive promotional tactics. In a data point that deserves mention, M3GAN almost surpassed the lifetime domestic haul of 2021’s Malignant in one day. It shares with that modern cult hit producer James Wan, writer Akela Cooper, and a campy tone. It should, however, be noted that Malignant debuted day and date on HBO Max.

Payakan Tulkun in Avatar the Way of Water
Image Via 20th Century Studios

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Director James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water slipped to the second spot for the first time since its release last month, as it picked up $11.4 million on its fourth Friday. It still made more than M3GAN, if you discount the horror film’s $2.7 million Thursday haul. Either way, The Way of Water is expected to generate between $38 million and $43 million this weekend, pushing its running domestic total past the half-billion mark. Currently, the film has made $483 million stateside, and over $1.5 billion globally. Sequels are coming.

At the number three spot, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish added $3.3 million on its third Friday, pushing its running domestic total to nearly $78 million. After witnessing an uptick in numbers in its sophomore weekend, the animated sequel is expected to make around $10 million this weekend.

The fourth and fifth spots were claimed by Sony's A Man Called Otto and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with $1.5 million and $968,000 on Friday, respectively. Disney’s superhero sequel will next set its target on the $450 million mark at the domestic box office — it currently sits $443 million — as it wraps up its theatrical run ahead of a February 1 Disney+ debut. The Tom Hanks-starrer, meanwhile, went semi-wide after a week in limited release, during which it made a little over $100,000.

Elsewhere, director Damien Chazelle’s epic period comedy Babylon is shaping up to be his second box office dud in a row, after the criminally underrated First Man. Starring Diego Calva, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, Babylon has made only $12.5 million domestically so far, against a reported $80 million budget. It’s also the second high-profile flop in a row for Robbie, whose Amsterdam is expected to lose 20th Century Studios around $100 million. Paramount is expected to be hit by losses amounting to around $80 million for Babylon.

But that is the reality of the post-pandemic marketplace. While lavishly mounted, star-studded, old-fashioned movies are bombing, CGI-heavy event films are still staying afloat. The Way of Water will comfortably continue to dominate the box office for at least a few more weeks, at least until Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania arrives next month.

You can watch our interview with M3GAN producer Wan here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.