The 2023 horror season is officially in full swing with the release of M3GAN this weekend. The Blumhouse and Universal film from producer James Wan about a killer AI companion gone wrong has been turning a lot of heads thanks to a stellar marketing campaign. The trailers have been a great blend of creepy and campy, M3GAN has gotten into Twitter feuds with genre legends like Chucky, and horror’s new favorite evil doll has even taken over NFL stadiums. Now, in the final marketing push this week, M3GAN has taken over New York City.M3GAN has been a social media icon ever since her first trailer dropped late last year, and she has been documenting her latest NY journey for all her fans to see. The adventure started on Wednesday for the New York premiere of the film at the Regal Union Square Theater. Star Allison Williams was there to introduce the film, but so was an army of M3GANs. They practiced their now iconic dance routine, took pictures with fans, and made sure to creepily be in the background of every Williams interview. They even followed Williams to the Today show. However, the fun didn’t end there as the army of M3GANs danced at the Empire State Building, met NY film icon King Kong, and grabbed some popcorn at the movies. Also, in the vein of Ghostface, M3GAN took to the subway. This prompted them to challenge the famous slasher villain on Twitter to see who would “scream” first. The Scream account played along with a game of their own, “who can we help reach their exits sooner than anticipated?” The bigger question is, what does a horror fan have to do to get a M3GAN vs Ghostface movie?In all seriousness, M3GAN’s marketing campaign has been one of the most entertaining in recent horror memory. Universal capped off its marketing push in style with this NYC adventure. Their great effort appears to have been rewarded as this new horror icon made $2.75 million in Thursday previews and is expected to make around $20 million this weekend. If that rings true, M3GAN will have almost doubled its budget in just one weekend as it was only made for $12 million. It’s another reminder that marketing’s still key to a film’s success. It also helps that the word of mouth for M3GAN is nothing short of spectacular. The film is hovering around 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and both critics and horror fans alike can’t get enough of this new fashionable killer doll. All signs point to M3GAN being Blumhouse’s next major franchise.
M3GAN is now playing and horrifyingly dancing in theaters everywhere. As you prepare for M3GAN to become your new best friend, you can view the doll’s NYC highlights down below.