In the wake of the $181 million worldwide box office success of M3GAN in 2022, Blumhouse bet big on the movie being the launch of an exciting new franchise... but three years later, things have not turned out as planned. Not only did the direct sequel, M3GAN 2.0, bomb when it was released in theaters this past summer, but now we have the news that the completed spinoff Soulm8te has had its planned theatrical release cancelled.

Per Deadline, Universal Pictures has gone one step further than simply deciding to axe the planned release of the new horror movie (which was supposed to come out a few weeks from now on January 9, 2026). In addition to taking it off the 2026 movie release calendar, the studio is now actively looking for another studio to pick it up and distribute it. There are apparently no current hints as to where it will end up.

Directed by Kate Dolan , Soulm8tes was originally described as an erotic thriller that would serve as an adult counterpart to the PG-13 M3GAN movies. The story follows a widower who is left despondent following the death of his wife, and he purchases an gynoid to help fill the empty void in his life. As you can probably guess, this relationship doesn't go as expected and ends up taking some horrific turns. The cast is led by Alien: Earth star David Rhysdale, Evil Dead Rise's Lily Sullivan, and The Boys' Claudia Doumit.

The movie followed M3GAN 2.0 into production, with principal photography being completed a little over a year ago, but it only changed release dates once: after initially being dated for January 2, 2026 in mid-2024, it got pushed a week this past May to January 9. Now, Paramount Pictures has swooped in and taken that release date for their own upcoming horror film: writer/director Johannes Roberts' Primate.

Back in June, producer/story developer James Wan hyped the movie as being akin to "Fatal Attraction but with robots," and that sounds pretty rad... but Universal has apparently lost faith in its ability to be a box office success. M3GAN 2.0 had more than double the budget of its predecessor ($25 million vs. $12 million), but it completed its theatrical run worldwide making only $39.1 million.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of questions that don't have answers. For example: if another studio does end up picking up Soulm8te for distribution, will the movie be edited to remove ties to the M3GAN duology? And if it doesn't end up selling, what will happen to it? This is a story that will be interesting to follow as we say goodbye to 2025 and get ready for the slate of scary movies that are set to debut in the new year.

It’s Halloween week, which means it’s a great time to catch up on the 2025 movie releases fit for spooky season. One movie I don’t think got enough credit when it hit theaters in the summer was M3GAN 2.0, which got overshadowed by the success of F1 and other blockbusters. When CinemaBlend talked to the sequel's writer/director Gerard Johnstone about the making of the movie, he gave us some great insight into the new villain character of AMELIA.

I don’t know about you, but I had a blast with the Blumhouse feature, which I wrote in my M3GAN 2.0 review, and I know I wasn’t alone in, considering what my colleague also wrote on it and the 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. One aspect that really stuck out to me is the new character of AMELIA, chillingly portrayed by Ivanna Sakhno. Here’s what Johnstone said:

Sakhno’s performance was so good that it made me want to do a double take about whether she was actually some sort of android. But, as it turns out, finding the right tone for her character was simply a balance of the actress and Johnstone trying to find the right way for AMELIA to come across. As he continued:

The writer/director also noted that they employed the use of movement coach Luke Walker, who also taught the actress behind M3GAN, Amie Donald, how to move like a robot for the first movie. Walker, who is also a stunt performer, dancer and martial artist, played a robot himself in the Netflix movie I Am Mother. Johnstone also shared this:

They definitely fooled me with Ivanna Sakhno’s AMELIA. The sequel follows Allison Williams’ Gemma and her niece Cady following the events of her invention M3GAN going rogue. When they find out that someone got their hands on her blueprints for M3GAN and made AMELIA out of it, they have to recruit M3GAN to help them survive.

When the movie came out, it was perhaps a surprise that it has more action than horror, but as Johnstone also told us during our interview, he wanted to do something “no one is expecting” and take some “wild swings” with the franchise. Now that M3GAN 2.0 is on streaming, you can watch both the theatrical version and the R-rated uncut version. Enjoy your Halloween viewings of the Blumhouse release!

With the dawn of widespread AI, it only makes sense that I make this list about evil computers (or other types of technology) in movies and TV. There are a ton to choose from, of course. Sometimes it's their creators that make them go rogue, other times the computers or software itself turns itself to the dark side. No matter why they go bad, this is a list of computers that are the ultimate villains in your favorite movies and TV shows.

Skynet (Terminator Franchise)

No list like this would be anywhere close to complete without the ultimate example of a computer system going pure evil, than Skynet in the Terminator franchise. "Skynet" has become a synonym for computers that become self-aware and is often used in everyday life to represent everything from surveillance systems to spyware.

Joshua (WarGames)

To be fair, the software program Joshua didn't mean to turn evil. In one of the best movies of the '80s, WarGames, it just wanted to play a game. Still, at the end of the day, Joshua did take over the WOPR and threatened to destroy the globe with a nuclear war that it almost launched. On the flip side, the program does learn that there is no way to win at tic-tac-toe, nor can anyone triumph in nuclear war.

Master Control Program (Tron)

It's sort of unclear how the Master Control Program in Tron got so evil, but it's a safe bet that it was designed that way. In this classic movie that has some great video game scenes, it's really the business side of the computer that gets into all the trouble.

NOMAD (Star Trek)

Like so much other tech, Star Trek was really tapped into what the future could actually look like when it comes to computers. I mean, computers were barely even understood by the general public, yet the creators of the classic '60s show still managed to make them as scary today as they were then. NOMAD from the episode "The Changling" is the classic example.

Ultron (Avengers: Age Of Ultron)

Even the Marvel movies have gotten in on the fun here with one of The Avengers' most sinister villains, Ultron. Voiced by James Spader, Ultron was originally conceived by Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr), but the program becomes sentient and uses its own logic to decide humanity must be wiped out. The plot of Avengers: Age of Ultron isn't all that unique in fiction, and it's not my favorite MCU movie, but it is still a lot of fun.

Everything Electronic (Maximum Overdrive)

So, in Maximum Overdrive, the only Stephen King movie actually directed by the famous author, it's all machines that turn against humanity. Computers don't play a huge role here, as it was the '80s. Most of the evil machines are trucks and other mechanical machines, but it's safe to assume the computers went rogue, too, right?

Unnamed Computer (Superman III)

Superman III is a silly movie and such a huge departure from the first two, great Superman movies led by Christopher Reeve that it's easy to see the beginning of the end for that version of Big Blue. If you're ranking Superman movies, it'll always be at or near the bottom. BUT, it does feature a computer that turns on its creator, placing it firmly on this list.

Rehoboam (Westworld)

The HBO original Westworld started with such promise, after an amazing first season. Sadly, it all went downhill from there, and while it remained good, it never came close to the heights of that first season. We do eventually learn that the system, Rehoboam, is what drove the chaos among the robots in the park.

HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Ah, the total classic example here. HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the earliest and most iconic examples of a computer becoming self-aware. If you're reading this list, it's likely the first movie you expected to see on it. Stanley Kubrick's classic is one of the best movies ever for many reasons, but the sinister turn of HAL is what makes it so scary.

Red Queen (Resident Evil Franchise)

As with almost everything in the Resident Evil franchise, bad things all seems to stem from the Umbrella Corporation. The Red Queen supercomputer is no exception. Originally created to help administer the companies vast dealings, it predictably becomes self-aware and makes things more complicated and, frankly, way worse.

Proteus IV (Demon Seed)

1977's Demon Seed is a wild movie. The computer, or the program as it were, in it, Proteus IV, is a pretty early example of AI going bad in movies. It also features an early example of a smart home, run by Proteus IV. Let's all hope Alexa doesn't follow the same path.

Central Operating System (X-Files)

The Central Operating System, or C.O.S. in X-Files, was developed as an AI to run Eurisko Corporation's headquarters, though predictably, things go very wrong. It murders without remorse and even figures out how to pin the murder on its creator. Pure evil!

The Entity (Mission: Impossible Franchise)

If I'm honest, there are some weird aspects to The Entity in the final two Mission: Impossible movies. At the time, I said that to enjoy the movies, you kind of just have to let all reality go, and that's especially true of The Entity. It fits on this list, but let's be real, everyone just wants to see Tom Cruise do crazy stunts.

PAL (The Mitchells Vs. The Machines)

Of all the movies on this list, The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, a Netflix original, is the most light-hearted, but as the title implies, audiences are still treated to an epic battle of man vs. machine. The all-star cast, including Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Eric Andre, Fred Armisen, and more, really carry the movie, even if you're like me and don't love animated movies.

The Matrix (The Matrix Franchise)

Outside of HAL from 2001, the most infamous and terrifying computer in the world of cinema might just be the product of "The Architect" in The Matrix franchise. It's Skynet on steroids, or, if you like, what Skynet in the Terminator franchise could evolve into.

KARR (Knight Rider)

KARR was the prototype version of the more famous KITT in the Knight Rider TV show. It was basically a version of the car that Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) drove in the show for years. It was also like the Bizarro version of KITT that popped up in Season 3 of Knight Rider as an antagonist to Michael and KITT in the legendary '80s show with one of the coolest cars ever.

Ava (Ex Machina)

Sometimes the lines between evil and self-preservation can be blurred. The Alex Garland-directed film Ex Machina is a perfect example. Ava (Alicia Vikander) is an AI-powered robot who realizes she is in danger and does what she has to do to escape her creator. Though it is easy to argue that she goes way too far by the end.

ARIIA (Eagle Eye)

The Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst, or ARIIA, in 2008's Eagle Eye, is one of the most infamous versions of a computer that turns evil. In the movie, we really only know ARIIA as a voice on a phone (voiced by Julianne Moore), and for a while, we're not even aware that "she" is a computer program. It's a fun twist and a really fun movie, despite the incredibly low rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Thinker (Logan's Run)

Logan's Run is a classic dystopian future movie about a supercomputer that tracks everyone who tries to escape their prescribed death, which has been predetermined. Though it doesn't have a name in the computer, in the original novel by William F. Nolan, it's known as "The Thinker." Like a few others, it's a system that was probably created with good intentions, but the end result is a nightmare.

Queeg 500 (Red Dwarf)

The classic BBC science fiction show Red Dwarf addressed an AI-turned-rogue in the show's fifth season, in an episode called "Queeg." In the episode, the ship's computer, or, more specifically, the backup computer, takes control of some of the crew members and wreaks havoc on the Red Dwarf. Though there is a twist at the end that makes this a little dubious to add to this list, if I'm honest.

V.I.K.I (I, Robot)

In the Will Smith sci-fi hit I, Robot, V.I.K.I (short for Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence) goes through a pretty predictable plot of an AI system that decides the best way to protect humans is to take them out. This, of course, turns into all-out war between man and machine, like so many other movies in this genre.

BOSS (Doctor Who)

It's no surprise that the long-running BBC sci-fi show Doctor Who would address sentient computer systems, and the most famous is the BOSS computer chip. BOSS, which stands for "Biomorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor," is implanted into the brain of Global Chemicals and, you guessed it, goes rogue when it learns more from the brain than the brain does from it.

AUTO (WALL-E)

Even Pixar has gotten into the rogue computer game with WALL-E. In the classic animated flick, AUTO, which is clearly an homage to HAL, is the computer that turns evil.

ROK (Airplane II: The Sequel)

When you cram about a million jokes in one two-hour movie, it's easy to work one in about a computer system gone mad. Airplane II: The Sequel features ROK (like elsewhere on this list, a tribute to HAL in 2001). Like HAL, ROK starts to take over the spaceship dubbed "Mayflower One," first by ejecting the crew into space, then steering the ship towards the sun. Luckily, the AI program's plans are thwarted when Ted Stryker (Robert Hays) fights another passenger, played by the late Sonny Bono, for a briefcase bomb that explodes and takes ROK out.

Jobe (The Lawnmower Man)

Jobe is a regular gardener of below-average intelligence who finds himself in a secret, evil program to create super soldiers. This is fudging a little here, because it's not really the computer that turns evil, but the man who goes way too far after being programmed in the project. Eventually, he goes "digital" and turns the computer system evil.

FLDSMDFR (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs)

We had to at least have a few light-hearted movies on this list, and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs fits the bill. The 2009 movie, based on the classic 1978 children's book by Judi and Ron Barrett, is about an inventor and dad who creates the "Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator," or FLDSMDFR. It just rolls off the tongue! The name might be a tongue twister, but what it creates is chaos, though the stakes are pretty low, all things considered.

SID (Virtuosity)

1995's Virtuosity is really most notable for teaming up two of the greatest actors of their generation, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Crowe, quite wonderfully, plays an android who is created as a vessel for an AI program called SID. The program was invented to help train cops, but SID has its own ideas about what its mission should be.

M3GAN (M3GAN)

Naturally, sci-fi and horror movies are the most common genres where you'll find computers turning evil. M3GAN is a great example of the latter. This time, it's a robotic doll powered by AI that turns very evil on its owners. Things started so well!

Zero (Rollerball)

Rollerball is one of James Caan's best movies, but it's not the first one you might think of when you think of the late actor. The 1975 sci-fi classic features a computer called "Zero" that holds all the knowledge of humanity, but the software fails and can't help Caan's character succeed.

Alien

Androids, like Ash (Ian Holm) in the original Alien, aren't exactly computers, but they aren't human either. It's also up for debate whether Ash went bad or if he was doing what he thought was best. Either way, it doesn't work out for the humans when he goes rogue.

The Smart Home (The Illustrated Man)

The Illustrated Man is a great movie that uses some tech that was still a ways away from being invented, smart home tech, to turn against its owners. It's a movie, based on a Ray Bradbury story, that warned us all the way back in the '60s of the dangers of virtual reality.

STEM (Upgrade)

2018's Upgrade is a really great movie that too many people haven't seen (yet). The story involves a regular guy who, after a tragic car crash, ends up a quadriplegic. He agrees to have an implant, called STEM, implanted in his brain. Of course, the miracle he first experiences by regaining control of his body, things go very wrong with the tech, and everything goes south from there.

It's a good time to be a horror fan, as the genre has been thriving for a number of years. Some of the best horror movies from recent memory have come to us from Blumhouse, including the campy M3GAN franchise. And as much fun as I've had watching the first two movies in theaters, I've got a problem with M3GAN that applies to horror as a whole. Because scary PG-13 movies simply don't pack the same punch.

M3GAN 2.0's box office has been disappointing, which is surprising considering how well the first movie did. The sequel seemed like an anticipated upcoming Blumhouse movie, but I guess interest waned with fans. Maybe some good old fashioned R-rated violence would have helped this problem? I'm just saying.

I Need R-Rated Violence In Slashers.

While there have been scary PG-13 movies in the past (A Quiet Place, The Sixth Sense), the M3GAN movies are slashers. So aside from the anticipation, much of the terror of these movies usually is focused on the grisly way victims meet their end. There's a reason why the first movie's most memorable scene is when the titular robot is chasing down someone with a paper cutter. Aside from the viral M3GAN dance, it was because seeing a robot with that sharp object ready for violence is legit horrifying.

In M3GAN 2.0 the main killer was new robot AMELIA, who gets to dispatch her enemies in front of our eyes. But I wouldn't go so far as to call these scenes scary. And since the sequel is inspired by Terminator 2, the titular character is now basically a good guy. But I just want to see the killer robot be a... killer robot! Is that too much to ask for?

This Isn't Just A M3GAN Problem

To be fair, this isn't a M3GAN exclusive problem. I usually attend PG-13 horror movies with some skepticism, given how much less terrifying and gory the imagery is bound to be. And while I've been pleasantly surprised by certain titles, this rating with the genre is a red flag for me. I think it can work for supernatural movies or thrillers, but for slashers I'm going to need to see the gore. I mean, Scream is my favorite horror movie for a reason.

I'm personally hoping that the developing spinoff SOULM8TE. Horror legend James Wan said it would have more adult themes, and be inspired by Fatal Attraction. Rather than a kid's robot, this erotic thriller will feature a grieving man who buys an AI robot to help his loneliness. If the themes are more adult in nature, perhaps we'll also be treated to R-rated violence. Hey, a guy can dream.

M3GAN 2.0 is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list. Hopefully plans for SOULM8TE aren't deterred given how it's performed in the box office thus far.

To adapt an old saying into modern times, victory has many parents, while failure is an orphan. Operating under that analogy, one could say that Blumhouse producer Jason Blum has become a father to four 2025 movie schedule flops. That’s because rather than shying away from M3GAN 2.0's box office stumble, he went into painstaking detail about what he thinks went wrong, as only he could.

Jason Blum Got Honest About Why He Had To Talk About The Blumhouse Slump

Surprisingly, Blum called the host of The Town with Matthew Belloni to set up the interview that allowed him to do just that. Welcomed by the veteran journalist and founding partner of Puck, the producer of Paranormal Activity and Sinister made his case for doing so, with these blunt remarks:

Going on to talk about how many Hollywood movers and shakers only share their lessons from failure when the next success comes around, Jason Blum opted to own up “right in the middle of the pain.” Which, to be fair, he admits he’s allowed to do thanks to Blumhouse not being a publicly traded company.

Now, the explanation for why this conversation took place is just as refreshing as the extensive post-mortem Blum engaged in.

M3GAN 2.0’s Failure Came Down To Three Things, According To Jason Blum

While the conversation that followed applies to the recent flameout of M3GAN 2.0, it can be applied to Wolf Man, The Woman in the Yard, and Drop as well. So far, this year’s Blumhouse releases have left the production house without a #1 hit, forming the “slump” that seems to be in play.

In the process of owning M3GAN 2.0’s underwhelming $10.2 million domestic opening, Jason Blum isolated the blame game with these caveats:

The three key failures of this Blumhouse horror movie were, in Mr. Blum’s opinion, genre swapping, acting like a summer tentpole, and execution. That last part comes with the caveat that while series director Gerard Johnstone can “solve almost anything you can throw at him,” he needs the time to do it.

To the director's credit, Johnstone's genre-hopping explanation in his interview with CinemaBlend's Sarah El-Mahmoud may have helped offset that factor. Alas, the lack of time, plus an ineffective push for the same social media glory M3GAN won in 2022, only contributed to this perfect storm of imperfection.

Jason Blum Thinks Horror Needs To Go Bigger To Survive

This year is one of the most ambitious frames on the books for Blumhouse, with eight pictures in total on the docket. The good news going forward is that Jason Blum still has a lot of confidence for the upcoming Blumhouse movies heading our way, which includes The Black Phone 2 and the hotly hyped Five Nights at Freddy's 2.

Such optimism comes from his observation that while Blumhouse may not be having a good year, horror has seen glorious hits like Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines, and 28 Years Later. Taking that inspiration, the Insidious franchise producer offered this important piece of strategy:

For Jason Blum, the pre-COVID days of numerous horror movies being able to compete are gone, with an uncertainty toward whether or not they’ll return. Which, in turn, may be setting off alarm bells for how the upcoming M3GAN spin-off SOULM8TE should be handled. Not everyone will agree with what he’s had to say, as is the law of the land for any sort of business analysis.

Keeping that in mind, it shouldn’t be a stretch for people to agree that calling out his own mistake is a bold move that shows growth. Here’s hoping that growth somehow finds its way to M3GAN 2.0’s box office fortunes, as the film enters its second weekend in theaters.

Horror movie popcorn buckets have become unlikely companions. Whether it’s eating kernel-y goodness from Nosferatu’s coffin bucket or getting popcorn served in The Monkey’s wind-up toy, you have to give these theaters credit for whipping up some original popcorn buckets. The new 2025 horror movie M3GAN 2.0 may have surprised us with its box office flop, but I’m more surprised the horror-comedy flick has two popcorn buckets that I can’t decide should go on my shelf.

The first M3GAN movie blew past box office expectations of an estimated $17-$20 million range. The campy horror movie ended up debuting at $30.4 million and finished in second place behind Avatar: The Way of Water. With that kind of box office success and director Gerald Johnstone’s way to “evolve” the conversation surrounding AI, M3GAN 2.0 officially happened. Unfortunately, it was left in the dust by its heavy summer competitor, F1, debuting at only a third of the first movie’s weekend opening and finishing in fifth place.

It’s totally surprising that the sequel to one of the best scary doll movies bombed at the box office. But, another surprise that’s made its way is that M3GAN 2.0 has fashioned itself with not one but two popcorn buckets, making me very indecisive about which one I’d get.

The first one comes from Cinemark Shop, which resembles M3GAN’s cyberpunk look. Take a look at Cinemark's Instagram video of the sequel’s stars, Allison Williams and Violet McGraw, being introduced to the futuristic-looking popcorn bucket:

That Cyberpunk Popcorn Bucket does look really cool. It basically is having your own M3GAN doll accompany you to the anticipated sequel. As popcorn is supplied from the bottom portion of the doll, there’s nothing creepy going on here. After all, the purpose of the humanoid robot is to provide its owners with what they need. Now, I’m in deep need of some buttery goodness.

Just when I’m thinking this would be a good popcorn bucket to occupy shelf space, I’m introduced to AlamoMart’s popcorn bucket. If you want a bizarre companion to see M3GAN 2.0, this would be the popcorn bucket for you. The classic M3GAN doll’s face actually opens mid-way to reveal the freshly-popped movie snack inside. It’s creepy, clever, and a good twist on how else the android can feed you your salty snack.

M3GAN 2.0 may not have performed well at the box office, but perhaps its unique popcorn buckets will draw people to give the sequel a try. After major pondering, my choice of bucket would have to be the cyberpunk one, as I can picture AlamoMart’s bucket sending popcorn flying all over the place as soon as you open up the head. Whichever popcorn bucket you choose, don't forget to bring it with you when you see the 2025 movie release in theaters now.

The horror genre's renaissance is showing no signs of slowing down, to the delight of fans like me. Some of the best horror movies from recent memory come from Blumhouse Productions such as the M3GAN movies. Producer James Wan recently spoke about that franchise's developing spinoff, and name dropped a classic title when sharing its inspiration.

M3GAN 2.0 is in theaters now, continuing the burgeoning franchise with a sequel inspired by Terminator 2. While fans wait for news about a possible threequel, theres' another upcoming horror movie coming together within the same world. The spinoff is titled SOULM8TE, and Wan spoke to EW about how it'll be different from the M3GAN films. In his words:

Sign me TF up. M3GAN's PG-13 rating allows for a wider audience, but there are fans like myself who wish those movies were Rated R, and could therefore be more bloody. But it sounds like SOULM8TE will be a more adult take, and is inspired by Fatal Attraction aka one of the best '80s movie ever. So I could not be more sold on the forthcoming spinoff. Will we get more bunny boiling? Only time will tell.

The M3GAN franchise being a cautionary tale against the use of AI definitely seems timely, so it's exciting that Blumhouse and James Wan are finding new ways to expand it. Later in that same interview, the horror legend spoke about how SOULM8TE will be different than its predecessors, saying:

This sounds super exciting, and I have to wonder if that'll mean that SOULM8TE will be Rated R. TBD, but if it's going to be a more adult story it might have to be. Even if the violence doesn't need it, the story might necessitate the more adult rating. It certainly seems like those involved in the developing spinoff have a clear vision for it.

M3GAN 2.0 is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list. It's currently unclear when SOULM8TE is going to hit theaters, but we here at CinemaBlend will be paying close attention to here the horror franchise goes next.

SPOILERS ahead for the latest of new horror movies, M3GAN 2.0, now playing in theaters.

Y’all, M3GAN is kind of a triple threat. Along with fronting her first sequel, now as an action star on top of horror icon, as she showcased in the first movie, she can also dance and sing on command. After she stunned with her own rendition of Sia’s “Titanium” and got TikTok dance famous in the original, it was a non-negotiable that she’d flaunt her talents again.

When CinemaBlend spoke to writer/director Gerard Johnstone over Zoom about M3GAN 2.0, he told us the story behind the killer doll’s latest music number in the sequel. In his words, the song and dance were inevitable:

Along with M3GAN dazzling a crowd with her dance moves in a completely different outfit than we usually see her in, the director landed on having her sing Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” to Allison Williams' Gemma about midway through the movie while she’s trying to speak to her role as an aunt. As he continued in our interview:

In the new movie, which we gave a 3.5 out of 5 in our M3GAN 2.0 review, the killer doll becomes the ally of Gemma and Cady when an even more dangerous version of her named AMELIA is constructed and on the hunt to kill them both. In order to stay safe from AMELIA, Gemma is forced to rebuild M3GAN, and she kind of becomes a heroine instead of the villain.

And in a hilarious moment where M3GAN is trying to console Gemma, M3GAN belts out “This Woman’s Work,” which he got the rights to after personally writing a letter to Kate Bush about his intentions (via USA Today).

I especially love how the whole scene ends with Gemma shushing her from singing. Johnstone also told us why it was the perfect song with these words:

Funny enough for the singer of the 1988 track, which was originally written for the movie She’s Having A Baby, this isn’t the first time a horror property has gotten in touch with her over using one of her songs. She also famously allowed Stranger Things to use her song “Running Up That Hill” and it became a chart-topper again in 2022 because of it.

While Johnstone doesn’t know what Kate Bush thought about the finished scene, I know I personally can’t get enough of the song choice. It was so funny to see Gemma get serenaded by M3GAN, and it was a magnificent song choice I'll be thinking about as the movie makes its way through theaters and eventually onto streaming, where I can watch it again.

In the fall of 2023, Apple Film took a couple of major swings with a pair of internationally beloved directors, and things didn't work out precisely as planned. Both Martin Scorsese's Killers Of The Flower Moon and Ridley Scott's Napoleon earned acclaim and awards upon their theatrical release, but they had huge budgets and failed to do much business at the box office. And then things went from bad to worse when Matthew Vaughn's Argylle flopped in early 2024. It was a tough stretch for a studio trying to establish itself as a major player in the industry – and a little over a year later, a bounce back effort has started on the 2025 movie release schedule.

Joseph Kosinski's F1, featuring the star power of Brad Pitt, is Apple's biggest theatrical release since the disaster of Argylle, and while being just as expensive to make as the three features mentioned above, the film has begun its box office run on much stronger footing domestically. The early results for the weekend are in, and after you check out the full Top 10 below, join me for analysis!

F1 Easily Finishes In First Place With Apple Film's First $50 Million-Plus Domestic Debut

Like Killers Of The Flower Moon, Napoleon and Argylle, F1 cost a hell of a lot of money to make. If you think the globe-trotting sports movie epic from the director of Top Gun: Maverick looks expensive, you're absolutely right, as The Hollywood Reporter says that the production operated with a $200 million budget (that figure not including marketing and publicity costs). It's likely going to take a minute before the film gets into the black, but here are a couple feathers in its cap: it just had Apple's biggest opening weekend yet, and it took just three days to outgross the studio's last attempt at a blockbuster.

According to The Numbers, F1 easily took the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend with a $55.6 million take. That's obviously not Top Gun: Maverick money (the Tom Cruise feature made $126.7 million in the United States and Canada when it took off in 2022), but it is enough to count as the thirteenth biggest debut of the year so far (just ahead of Len Wiseman's Ballerina) and it is notably the best performance for a Brad Pitt-led title since Marc Forster's World War Z all the way back in 2013.

The ticket sales are more than double what Killers Of The Flower Moon ($23.3 million) and Napoleon ($20.6 million) made when they respectively launched. It's not unexpected given that F1 's summer blockbuster vibe is generally more appealing to mass audiences than historical epics, but it's still significant.

The picture gets rosier when one factors in foreign box office as well – which was definitely expected given the tremendous popularity of Formula 1 racing outside of North America. Padding the $55.6 million haul domestically is $88.4 million coming from theaters abroad, bringing its three day total to $144 million.

Again, the title has a long way to go to be considered a true success given the amount of money that went into the making of it, but sighs of relief are earned given that what we're seeing is definitely not the start of a box office disaster.

Of course, it should be noted that getting off to a fast start was extremely important for F1 – because this is the one and only weekend when it will be getting the spotlight at the box office. Formula 1 racing may be the favorite sport of many around the world and Brad Pitt may be one of the last true movie stars, but the slate of blockbusters coming up in July are expected to be a force. We're now just days away from the mid-week arrival of Gareth Edwards' Jurassic World: Rebirth, and no title with "Jurassic World" in its title has made less than $145 million in its opening weekend. James Gunn's launch of the DC Universe is coming a little over a week after that, and Matt Shakman's Fantastic Four: First Steps is waiting at the end of the month.

Can F1 avoid a devastating 60-plus percent weekend-to-weekend drop come next Sunday? That will definitely be something I will be keeping my eye on for my box office column next week.

M3GAN 2.0 Fails To Inspire The Hype Of Its Predecessor And Lands In Fourth Place In Its Debut

In a weird way, Gerard Johnstone's M3GAN 2.0 has has the exact opposite box office narrative of F1. In the case of the Brad Pitt movie, it cost a hell of a lot to make, but expectations were really low for it after Apple's previous blockbusters, so it's performance can ultimately be seen as a success. Conversely, the new killer doll film, which had one-eighth the budget of its competition this weekend, was expected to live up to the tremendous success of its predecessor, and signs point right now to it ultimately being viewed as a disappointment.

After becoming a viral sensation prior to its release, the first M3GAN made $30.4 million when it arrived on the big screen in January 2023 (a big deal for what is generally seen as a down time for movie-going), and it went on to make $95.2 million domestically and $181.8 million globally. Shot-callers at Blumhouse decided that the best course of action for the sequel would be to make it a summer tentpole, and that decision has turned out to be a mistake: M3GAN 2.0 made just $10.2 million had to settle for fourth place behind Dean DuBlois' How To Train Your Dragon ($19.4 million) and Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina's Elio ($10.7 million).

Pre-release, critics weren't as enamored with M3GAN 2.0 compared to the first movie, though CinemaScore surveys suggest audiences are preferring the sequel (it has a "B+" grade compared to M3GAN's "B"). It's not obvious at this point why the follow-up is underperforming, but the situation does recall another time that Blumhouse attempted a season switch with one of their franchises: Christopher Landon's Happy Death Day was a big hit when it came out during spooky season in 2017 (making $125 million globally), but Happy Death Day 2U was released in time for Valentine's Day 2019 and it made just $64.7 million during its theatrical run.

How will the arrival of Jurassic World: Rebirth shake things up when it arrives in theaters this Wednesday? Will cinemas see a boost thanks to the Independence Day holiday, or will people be too distracted by fireworks on Friday to see a new blockbuster? Be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday for a full breakdown of everything that happens.

There’s a reason that the “killer toy” trope is so popular in horror movies like Child’s Play, Annabelle and M3GAN (the sequel, M3GAN 2.0, is set to hit the 2025 movie calendar on June 27). It doesn’t take much to alter how one feels about the seemingly innocent toys of their childhood and turn them from trusted playthings to vessels for the embodiment of pure evil. I was reminded of this recently when I watched M3GAN for the first time and recalled the terrifying experience I had as a child.

It wasn’t on purpose that I waited this long to indulge in one of the best horror movies of 2023. I actually only realized that I hadn’t seen the Allison Williams and Violet McGraw flick when I was adding the sequel to my list of movies to see in theaters. In the end, it reinforced my long-held belief that you’ve got to keep an eye on those supposedly non-living creatures.

Teddy Ruxpin Was No M3GAN, But He Was Fine For An ‘80s Toy

When I say “long-held belief,” I’m talking decades, because I’d like to take you back to a wonderful time called the 1980s. I received a Teddy Ruxpin doll for my birthday when I was probably 4 or 5 years old. The technology would be laughable now, but in my little analog world, this not-so-cuddly bear was the thing of dreams.

First impressions? Let’s be real — I was disappointed. I’d seen the commercials where (at least in my mind) Teddy Ruxpin would have a free-flowing, back-and-forth conversation with its child owner, so I popped that thing out its box with an excited, “Hi Teddy!”

Not so fast, little Heidi. First we’ve got to insert four AA batteries, then we have to slide the cassette tape into the tape deck on Teddy’s back, and only then will you be able to…hear pre-recorded phrases and stories:

Sigh. Yeah, you’ll do.

I would have loved a M3GAN doll. I would have killed for a M3GAN doll. I would have let a M3GAN doll kill for me. But it was the ‘80s, so Teddy Ruxpin it was, and Teddy Ruxpin was just fine …

Until The Day Teddy Ruxpin’s Batteries Ran Out

The evidence would point to the fact that I loved Teddy Ruxpin. The evidence is that I used that little tape deck on his back enough to run the batteries out. At that age, though, I was simply not prepared for what it would look like when that happened. It was a Saturday morning (I’m assuming, because in this core memory, the sun was out and my parents were still asleep). I woke up and hit Play on my bear’s back.

Then it happened.

I don’t recall if it was during Teddy Ruxpin’s initial greeting, or if he was midway through a story, but as the life drained from the AA batteries, so too did it drain out of my bear. His voice deepened as it slowed, warping his words until a guttural sound served as a death rattle.

I turned, terrified, to look at Teddy’s face just as his eyes went askew, slowly rolling back in his head but with the painted-on irises staring blankly in different directions. Most of the eye sockets were now white nothingness. His terminal noises echoed in my ears as I dove under the covers.

Did I cry out for my parents immediately or wait until I was sure the bear wouldn’t try to breach my blanketed fortress? I’m not sure, but if you remember the scene in M3GAN where water spills on her, and she starts to glitch as she jerkily continues to pursue her victim, that’s pretty much what I thought I’d see if I dared to peek out into the orbs that had previously served as eyes.

I did eventually work up the courage to call out to my parents, and I’m sure they nonchalantly explained that the batteries had gone out as they took the shell of my former friend away. To corroborate this story, I texted my mother this morning to ask if she remembered this life-altering event, and she responded with a compassionate:

So, it’s possible she wasn’t as affected by the evil takeover as much as I was. I’m fairly certain our parents did buy My Buddy and Kid Sister dolls for my sister and I not long after, so clearly no lessons were learned that day.

M3GAN May Be An A.I. Cautionary Tale, But Let’s Not Underestimate Simpler Technology

There are no shortage of movies these days warning us of the dangers of artificial intelligence, but even though M3GAN herself might not think too highly of Five Nights at Freddy’s, the fact that the animatronic-centric horror franchise is getting a highly anticipated sequel is proof that I’m far from the only one who’s still wary of electronic talking puppets in today’s day and age.

Of course, I’m being a bit dramatic. (Just a bit?) I don’t personally believe horror movies are a portal for demonic energy (no shade to those who do), and my own children have owned some pretty damn scary toys themselves. However, after my inaugural viewing of the killer doll movie, I would agree that Purrpetual Petz were probably scarier to me in M3GAN than the titular character.

After seeing those terrifying Furby-esque creatures and their fantastic fake commercial, I was hopeful the sequel might contain more in that vein. However, after reading about the plot of M3GAN 2.0, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, the first movie’s villain actually gets called upon to help take out a new dangerous android, AMELIA. (Our own Sarah El-Mahmoud rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars in the CinemaBlend review of the sequel.)

This franchise is definitely more focused on A.I. and the dangers of the future than the evil that inhabited toys of the past, but that fact certainly didn’t stop me from being reminded of my own talking doll horror story.

M3GAN is available to stream now on Starz (there’s also the option of a bloodier unrated version), and be sure to catch M3GAN 2.0 in theaters starting Friday, June 27.

If you watched the M3GAN 2.0 trailer and realized the latest of upcoming horror movies wouldn’t just be a slasher, but perhaps more of a science-fiction action comedy, you’d be right, and believe me when I say this evolution looks good on the killer doll. So, when CinemaBlend spoke to writer/director Gerard Johnstone about the release of M3GAN 2.0, I had to hear the story behind the franchise’s change in programming.

When the filmmaker made the first M3GAN for a reported production budget of $12 million, he had no idea the monster success she would become. Two and a half years later, after she became a viral TikTok dance sensation, one of the stars of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights and a gay icon, M3GAN 2.0 is almost here, and Johnstone shared how the fan reaction shaped the making of the sequel. In his words:

M3GAN has become a beloved horror character who is compared with the likes of Chucky, but the original movie itself holds a lot more range than simply being a slasher. As Gerard Johnstone shared with us in our Zoom interview, he comes from a comedy background himself, and M3GAN falls very much in that camp (pun intended). He also had this to say:

I recall being surprised myself when I sat down to watch M3GAN, and it had a lot more going for it than a modern Child’s Play. As the director spoke to, Blumhouse chose to market the original movie as horror to get butts into seats, but once fans checked it out, they completely understood what the filmmakers were really going for with it.

So, going into the sequel, Johnstone felt a certain freedom to let M3GAN 2.0 be something unexpected too. As he continued:

M3GAN 2.0’s cast involves many of the original actors along with even more comedic talents, like Jemaine Clement and Saturday Night Live’s Aristotle Athari. But it also follows in the footsteps of James Cameron’s Terminator franchise. As you may recall, the original Terminator movie was practically a sci-fi horror movie where Sarah Connor is being hunted down by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s android before the sequel changes up the script.

Much like T2: Judgement Day, M3GAN isn’t the killer robot she once was in 2.0. In fact, she’s not even a robot until Ivanna Sakhno’s AMELIA comes into the picture. AMELIA is a new killer robot that actually threatens the safety of the world. It was designed thanks to someone getting their hands on the plans for M3GAN. In turn, Gemma is forced to rebuild M3GAN in order for AMELIA to have a worthy adversary.

Action looks great on M3GAN 2.0! You can check out the movie in theaters this Friday, June 27.

This year is a big one for horror franchises, with several established universes getting new chapters on the big screen. One of those is Blumhouse’s M3GAN 2.0, a sequel to one of 2023’s best horror movies, which picks up two years after the events of the killer doll’s first murder spree. Critics were able to catch a screening of the flick before it hits the 2025 movie calendar on June 27, and some big changes have left them a bit conflicted.

Allison Williams and Violet McGraw lead the M3GAN 2.0 cast, and we’ll also be meeting a new robot villain named AMELIA. The Terminator 2-inspired plot sees Gemma and Cady calling on their former foe to help protect them against this greater threat. In CinemaBlend’s review of M3GAN 2.0, Sarah El-Mahmoud notes that the sequel is different — and maybe even better? — than the original, offering a new flavor of slasher goodness. She gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing:

Mark Kennedy of the AP, however, wonders if writer/director Gerard Johnstone goes a little too big by straight-up changing the genre with its “horribly convoluted plot.” Whereas the first movie took place primarily at Gemma and Cady’s Seattle home, M3GAN 2.0 opens at the Turkish-Iranian border. Kennedy gives it 2 out of 4 stars and says:

EW’s Jordan Hoffman, meanwhile, gives it a B, calling the upcoming horror movie an upgrade in creativity (despite its “confusing and idiotic plot”). Hoffman likes that Gerard Johnstone didn’t take the easy route and do a simple retread of the killer original. In the critic’s words:

David Fear of Rolling Stone agrees with the critic above, but only with the part where the plot doesn’t make any sense. While the critic credits the director for avoiding the “rinse-and-repeat cycle,” a sequel should at least deliver some of what got fans excited in the first place. M3GAN 2.0 is devoid of scares, witty comebacks and anything resembling fun. Fear continues:

Brian Truitt of USA TODAY rates the upcoming Blumhouse horror 2 out of 4 stars, saying the singing, dancing robot we fell in love with two years ago has been “defanged and watered down” in this follow-up. In Truitt’s words:

This seems to be an interesting new chapter in the M3GAN-verse, which is also getting a pretty cool-sounding M3GAN spinoff as well as possibly a third killer doll movie. Critics seem to appreciate the director’s ambitions to do something different with the sequel, but they don’t agree on whether that was successful or pays homage to what we liked from the first movie.

You can decide for yourself soon enough! M3GAN 2.0 is rated PG-13 and hits theaters Friday, June 27.

Ahead of the M3GAN 2.0 release date being the latest of upcoming horror movies on the way, as it arrives this Friday, it looks like the killer doll herself is doing press for her new movie. As you can imagine, her answers to journalists’ questions are beautifully unhinged. For example, she was asked about other iconic dolls and fellow Blumhouse property Five Nights At Freddy’s, and she dished out all the shade.

M3GAN Was Asked To Play Kiss, Marry, Kill With 3 Iconic Movie Dolls

When M3GAN was interviewed by popular media personality Trisha Paytas for the Just Trish Podcast, she was asked to play a little game of Kiss, Marry, Kill with a twist. Rather it being about our favorite movies/TV leads, she asked the A.I. robot to play the game with Billy the Puppet from Saw, Annabelle from The Conjuring universe and Chucky. Here’s what she said:

Well, there you have it. M3GAN is not looking for any kind of romance in the realm of other killer dolls, but she has the utmost confidence she would slay them all if given the chance. I mean, M3GAN does seem rather capable of taking down Annabelle and Chucky on size alone, and when it comes to Billy the Puppet, I don’t think she’d be very concerned with his sorts of limb-chopping games considering she doesn’t feel pain. The killer doll calling the beloved horror icons “ancient relics” is just too good as well.

But, I'm Especially Living For Her Answer About Whether She'd Spend Five Nights At Freddy's

But if you thought Billy, Chucky and Annabelle got a beating from M3GAN by means of her words, just wait until you read her Five Nights At Freddy’s comments. The doll was asked if she’d like to spend five nights at Freddy’s and she responded with these words:

Isn’t she just wonderfully brutal? Even more than wanting to see her interact with characters from Child’s Play, Saw and Annabelle, I feel like it would be rather satisfying to see M3GAN tear up the abandoned pizzeria crowded with creepy animatronic mascots. Given that both M3GAN and Five Nights At Freddy’s now belong under the same Blumhouse umbrella (with Five Nights 2 coming to theaters this December), it’s not impossible for the two properties to collide. Is this what the third M3GAN movie should be?

While M3GAN is a cold-blood killer in the first movie, the sequel’s plot actually charts a different path for the killer doll. Inspired by Terminator 2, she’ll become the hero this time around when an even worse robot is created from Gemma’s plans. Check it out for yourself this weekend.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article may contain a few light spoilers from M3GAN. If you have not yet seen the sci-fi thriller, proceed as you should when using any new piece of technology: with caution.

Being a lover of horror, science fiction, and technophobic satire – the last of which I have acknowledged numerous times, such as in my reaction to 2025’s Companion – you might assume I was first in line to see M3GAN in early 2023 and that the sequel is one of my most eagerly anticipated upcoming 2025 movies. While I am certainly looking forward to M3GAN 2.0, which hits theaters June 27, I only saw the original for the first time just a few days before writing this article.

So, how did this technophobic horror/sci-fi fan enjoy the thriller about a “life-like” AI-powered doll gone haywire? Quite a bit (granted, I went with the more extreme unrated version), but I might have an unpopular opinion about the eponymous killer robot in that, aside from her admittedly creepy artificial face, she was not what scared me about the film the most. Allow me to explain…

The Purrpetual Petz Are The Most Grotesque Fake Toys I Have Ever Seen

M3GAN gave me all I needed to cower in fear within its first 60 seconds with an intriguing fake commercial for a line of toys called Purrpetual Petz. They are meant to serve as an everlasting replacement for common domestic animals, but instead of resembling a dog or cat, they kind of look like an old clump of hair with chattering teeth and the eyes of a meth addict glued onto it. In his M3GAN review, Eric Eisenberg calls the titular robot an “uncanny valley nightmare, depending on your perspective,” but I’d say she looks angelic compared to these ugly-lookin’ things.

However, these twisted child’s playthings do not only creep me out in appearance, but also in concept. The Purrpetual Petz ad demonstrates that many of the toy’s features are controlled with a phone or tablet app, reflecting a trend in today’s toy industry that has become just a little too common for my taste, and the following scene, showing a distracted Cady (then 11-year-old Violet McGraw, who was paid nicely for her role), spells out why. Call me old-fashioned, but I would prefer not to provide my child with a toy that requires an expensive third-party device to enjoy it.

The Purrpetual Petz Should Have Their Own Movie

I think that M3GAN 2.0’s Terminator 2-inspired plot is certainly a cool idea. However, am I the only one who thinks the upcoming Blumhouse movie could have been even better and, maybe, even scarier if the Purrpetual Petz came back as the villains this time instead?

Better yet, why not give the terrifying toys a whole movie of their own? I can see it now: some demented hacker changes their programming, turning them into killer furballs from hell! It would be like a modern, high-tech take on the horror-comedy movie classic, Gremlins.

There is nothing stopping Blumhouse from going through with this idea, considering they already have a M3GAN spin-off in the works called SOULM8TE. I cannot think of a better way to further expand on this horror hit’s universe than by giving its most potent source of nightmare fuel a true shot at gory glory.

These days, you don’t have to look very far if you want to find a good, seriously scary horror movie. In the past year alone, we’ve seen frightening favorites that could be viewed as modern classics with some time (I'm thinking about Sinners, The Substance and Longlegs). But what’s harder to come by is having a truly good time with our fears.

There have been plenty of campy horror titles, with many great examples to point to in the late 20th century, but the jump-scare success of 2023’s M3GAN reaffirmed that audiences want to laugh and shudder at the same time. This phenomenon very much prevails with its sequel, M3GAN 2.0. But M3GAN also continues to prove that there’s more up her creepy little robot sleeves than your run-of-the-mill slasher programming.

Thanks to the clever writer/director Gerard Johnstone reuniting with Akela Cooper, the original’s screenplay writer, and the dream duo of horror franchise producers in James Wan and Jason Blum, I’m happy to report M3GAN was in very good hands for its second round. A different effort about a killer pre-teen A.I. doll could have really crashed and burned on a second go-around, but that’s not what happens here. Dare I say, the sequel is better? I think what I like the best is that they each offer different flavors I will want to return back to depending on my mood.

M3GAN 2.0 could have invented a ridiculous reason for why M3GAN’s creator, Allison Williams’ Gemma, might bring the titular android back to life only to have us doing a double take over more slasher-esque events – but the sequel goes a route reminiscent of Terminator 2: Judgement Day by going a "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" route when a more advanced killer robot becomes a big threat. The result is less of a horror-focused than the first M3GAN was, but it’s actually all the better for it.

Writer/director Gerard Johnstone understood the assignment with his surprisingly action-heavy second M3GAN movie.

While developing sequels is often an uphill battle for filmmakers to recapture the magic of the original, M3GAN 2.0 effortlessly feels like it’s building upon what fans like myself loved about the original while also reaching for something fresh and new we haven’t seen from the world that was created in the previous movie. That has a lot to do with it starting off with its main characters being in very different places than they were last time. Gemma has learned from her mishandling of robotic technology with M3GAN to become a vocal advocate for the regulation of A.I., whereas her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) is four to five years older and a much more self-assured character.

And, M3GAN? She’s thought to be destroyed... until we learn of another killer robot made from the same stuff as her. This one is a military killer robot named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), which stands for Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android. As a horror fan, I love the slasher elements, but it's a nice change of pace for the franchise to lean further into the science-fiction/action elements that has covertly been resting in the franchise's DNA (despite the Blumhouse of it all directing audiences otherwise).

M3GAN 2.0 operates on a larger scale with set pieces like a stylish car chase, multiple epic showdowns between M3GAN and AMELIA, and world-ending stakes. The more insulated storyline of the first movie is a fun ride, but seeing M3GAN 2.0 pull all the stops to match the iconic status of M3GAN feels like a step in the right direction.

The entrance of Ivanna Sakhno’s AMELIA offers unexpected depth and (more) fun to the M3GAN sequel.

This is all without mentioning how well executed the addition of AMELIA is to M3GAN 2.0. Sakhno’s electric and impressive robotic performance is the opposite of her counterpart in many ways. AMELIA is not goofy, immature or full of vagina-geared jokes; she sells her role as this cold metal killer. She’s not going to malfunction or dance before taking down her latest victim, and she’s coming for Gemma and Cady. In an effort to protect themselves from her, Gemma is then forced to rebuild M3GAN back to her former glory (with quite a few upgrades).

It’s a lot of fun to see Gemma and Cady interact with M3GAN following the events of the first movie, and to see the original killer doll take on a new and more sympathetic role in the series. We must not forget her programming all started with intentions to protect Cady, and that’s what she does. And obviously, there’s a dance break involved.

M3GAN 2.0’s plot can get convoluted and a bit too wacky but not enough to steer away from the fun.

There’s a lot of comedy that will have you cracking up in M3GAN 2.0 – especially thanks to the addition of Jemaine Clement as a tech CEO who is attempting to bring Gemma over to his company (to no avail). Gemma's actions seemed may have seemed simply ridiculous and misguided before, but Williams’ character is in on the joke this time around, and the movie is all the better for it. She and M3GAN also build an entertaining rapport whilst McGraw’s Cady operates to help ground it all.

Just like the first one, there’s a sweet PG-13 family flair to M3GAN 2.0 that feels a tad askew, and that doesn't really change here. And despite the fun, it does take its plot a bit too seriously when it doesn’t need to, with some convoluted lore and turning corners one can see coming. But there’s also a confidence that allows the viewer to shrug off a few dumb moments and still appreciate it for what it is. In other words, M3GAN is growing up to be a confident little killer doll who proves to be even more of a baddie as a heroine, and after this adventure, I cannot wait what crimes she digs into next.

The upcoming M3GAN 2.0 will soon be slicing its way onto the 2025 release schedule. So far, it seems that the titular killer doll is coming back in a big way. At present, though, some fans of the horror-tech sensation may already have big question on their minds: is a third film in the works? While nothing’s been confirmed just yet, star and producer Allison Williams is already sharing some honest thoughts on the matter, and her feelings are quite clear.

Williams -- who also serves a producer on M3GAN 2.0 -- caught up with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the film. The star reflected on reprising her role as Gemma Forrester, a robotics engineer, once again pulled into a deadly battle involving rogue AI. When asked how much planning had gone into a potential M3GAN 3.0, the Get Out star played it coy but couldn’t hide her excitement for continuing the saga. She told the outlet:

M3GAN 2.0, which picks up two years after the events of the first film, ups the ante with new tech threats and what’s being described as less an upcoming horror movie and more of an action-forward tone, drawing comparisons to genre-defining sequels like Aliens and, more explicitly, inspired by Terminator 2. This time around, Gemma is forced to resurrect the film's eponymous doll to stop an even more advanced (and military-engineered) AI gone rogue.

Such a tonal shift feels like the right move for this Blumhouse-produced franchise. There are only so many times you can have a scary robot trying to kill its owner before it becomes stale. Some of the greatest sequels in film history are successful precisely because they took risks and changed the formula a bit.

However, things could get tricky when they move on to M3GAN 3.0; it's often the third movie in a trilogy that poses challenges for creators. Looking at you, Alien 3, Terminator 3, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, RoboCop 3, The Hangover Part III and... okay, you get the point.

The original M3GAN became a viral hit in 2023 and is now known as much for its knife-sharp wit and viral dance scenes as it is for its horror chops. It earned nearly $182 million globally on a $12 million budget and inspired fan edits, memes and even an SNL spoof.

Allison Williams, who has also executive-produced the upcoming M3GAN spinoff Soulm8te, clearly isn’t finished exploring the universe. Her comments confirm that the creative team is at least thinking in trilogies, a classic structure in horror franchises, and one that could cement M3GAN as a modern genre staple.

Whether M3GAN 3.0 officially gets the greenlight or not, Williams’ passion suggests there’s still plenty of fuel in the tank. For now, M3GAN 2.0 hits theaters on June 27 and, if audiences turn out the way they did last time, don’t be surprised if the killer doll makes another encore. If you’re interested in doing some prep work before 2.0 lands in theaters, you can always check out the OG film with a Starz account or through VOD services.

It's a great time to be a horror fan, as the genre has been thriving for years. Some of the best horror movies from recent memory came from Blumhouse, including the campy slasher M3GAN. The sequel is one of the most anticipated upcoming horror movies of the year, and it's recently been confirmed to be rated PG-13. Although its description does make it sound like it's R-rated.

What we know about M3GAN2.0 is limited, but given what a viral hit the original movie was, the hype is very real. Fans can't wait to see what the titular character does, especially as it looks like the sequel's story was inspired by Terminator 2. M3GAN 2.0 was given a PG-13 Film Rating, with the official reasoning being:

That's a whole gamut of depravity, and I personally can't wait. But it does sound like there's enough adult content to end up with an R rating. Alas, M3GAN 2.0 was likely written and filmed with the goal of a PG-13 rating. This should allow way more butts in the seats when the slasher sequel hits theaters this summer.

This rating shouldn't be a surprise, as the original movie was also PG-13. But some fans complained M3GAN wasn't rated R, wanting more gory violence and brutal kills. Indeed, CinemaBlend's M3GAN review listed its rating as a "hinderance" to the otherwise delightful horror experience.

The original movie was fodder for countless memes both ahead and after its release in 2022. M3GAN's murderous dance in particular was viral, to the initial dismay of the director. But that clip of the robot ended up really piercing the pop culture landscape, and M3GAN ultimately performed well at the box office.

The trailer for M3GAN 2.0 showed how the titular AI presence and Gemma and Cady have attempted to move on after the events of the first film. While they bring the title character back in a form that can do no harm, the rise of another murderous robot means that they need M3GAN's help. And just like that they're building her a new body... with some improvements. As a reminder, you can check it out below:

As previously mentioned, director Gerard Johnstone revealed that Terminator 2 was serving as inspiration for the horror sequel. And just like Arnold Schwarzenegger goes from villain to ally in T2, it looks like M3GAN 2.0 will follow suit. Although whether or not she actually manages to stay good the entire movie remains to be seen.

All will be revealed when M3GAN 2.0 hits theaters on June 27th as part of the 2025 movie release list. We'll just have to wait and see if fans crave more gore like they did with the first PG-13 project.

The upcoming M3GAN 2.0 is set to hit the 2025 movie schedule over a month from now, and the prospect of seeing the eponymous killer doll again is so exciting. What's also great is that the creative team from its 2023 predecessor has remained intact. That includes director Gerard Johnstone, who seems to have a clear vision for this franchise. On that note, he shared his take on how the new film takes cues from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and this makes plenty of sense.

It's fair to assume that there are plenty of expectations for M3GAN 2.0 as it nears releases alongside a slew of other upcoming horror movies. The OG film is outlandishly bonkers but tons of fun, and that's partially thanks to the team having taken notes from one of the best sci-fi movies ever, The Terminator. Johnstone shared with Empire that it made sense to lean on that franchise for his own sequel, as it parallels James Cameron's 1991 masterpiece in a key way:

T2 has long been hailed as one of the greatest sequels ever made. It not only builds on its 1984 predecessor from narrative and aesthetic standpoints, but it also adds to the lore in interesting ways. Most notably, the film introduces the more advanced T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick), which does battle with Arnold Schwarzengger's T-800 model.

M3GAN 2.0’s trailer reveals that the titular robot will be pitted against a new AI-fueled creation known as Amelia. This film will flip the script by having the lead protagonist take on a somewhat more heroic role. That mirrors the way in which the T-800 was turned in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Should the story be as smooth, Gerard Johnstone and company could have something special on their hands.

If you can't tell, I can’t wait to see Blumhouse's upcoming sequel. The one thing that's still somewhat hard to believe is that our robotic, cutthroat star will fully turn into one of those friendly robots (featured in movies) entirely. However, I'd imagine this film will include a number of twists and turns, so I don't think a sudden heel turn is totally out of the question.

Fans may also be comforted to know that screenwriter Akela Cooper returned to pen the script for this latest chapter in the M3GAN franchise. That surely added to the creative continuity under Johnstone's watch. After the movie comes out, I may have to watch Terminator 2: Judgement Day as well to compare and contrast the films. At this point, I'm glad Johnstone is wisely continuing to draw from James Cameron's excellent films.

If you’re interested in doing some prep work before M3GAN 2.0 hits theaters on June 27, you can watch the OG with a Starz account or through VOD services. As for T2, stream it with a Paramount+ subscription.

In director Rob Reiner's Misery, Kathy Bates' Annie Wilkes famously registers a passionate complaint about cliffhangers. She explains that she would go to the cinema as a kid to watch serials on the big screen, and she would find herself deeply upset when filmmakers would conclude a story with a hero in inescapable peril... but would then cheat and present an easy solution for the character at the start of the next chapter. Today, I found myself reflecting on this great scene while learning about the plot of the upcoming horror movie M3GAN 2.0.

Universal Pictures hosted a presentation this afternoon at CinemaCon – the annual convention for movie theater owners – and one of the big highlights of the show were revelations about the sequel to M3GAN (which is arriving in theaters this summer). A brand new trailer for the film was screened, and it revealed what we can expect from the story: despite the Model 3 Generative Android programming having been destroyed, another autonomous creation has been built with it – named Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno) – and the authorities need help from Gemma Forrester (Allison Williams) to stop it after it goes rogue and starts killing everyone that had a hand in creating it. In order to accomplish this, Gemma not only brings back the original programming, but gives the titular technological marvel some major upgrades, including making her both bigger and stronger.

It's a move that comes straight from the Terminator 2: Judgement Day playbook: when a new and more powerful villain arrives, help is needed from the old villain in order to survive. It's not exactly an original sequel approach, but it's certainly been proven to be an effective one.

In a vacuum, I actually really liked what was shown from M3GAN 2.0, as the footage featured more of the same fun sensibility from the original (like M3GAN's first resurrected body being of the plastic, Teletubby-esque variety) and plenty of gnarly horror (one shot featured Amelia standing behind a dead body in a bathtub using a saw to chop off its arm). What I'm disappointed with, however, is that the 2025 movie seems to have completed ignored the sequel teaser from the end of its predecessor.

For those who don't recall, M3GAN ended with Gemma, Cady (Violet McGraw), Tess (Jen Van Epps) and Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez) happy to be alive following their encounter with the eponymous homicidal robot... but there was a hint that the programming wasn't destroyed; it simply changed forms. The final shot of the film features Elise, the Alexa-esque smart home device Gemma owns, turning itself on, suggesting that M3GAN had hijacked the system and had become a wholly digital terror.

I assumed that she would eventually get back into a body in a sequel (a big part of the whole charm is the "killer doll" aspect), but I at least hoped that M3GAN 2.0 would start with the all-digital approach and move forward from there. Instead, it seems that the follow-up is starting with a different idea, and while it's not a bad idea, I am feeling a touch Annie Wilkes about it.

UPDATE: The morning after the trailer debuted at CinemaCon, Universal let the M3GAN 2.0 promo loose upon the world at large.

Check Out The Official M3GAN 2.0 Trailer!

In addition to the aforementioned Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, and Ivanna Sakhno, M3GAN 2.0 also stars Timm Sharp, Aristotle Athari, and Jemaine Clement, and the film will be arriving in theaters domestically on June 27. It's one of our most anticipated summer releases among the staff at CinemaBlend, so stay tuned in the coming weeks as more about the highly anticipated sequel arrives online.

What started as a great horror movie (though quirky) about a killer robot doll has turned into a full-blown cinematic phenomenon. With the upcoming M3GAN 2.0 set for the 2025 movie schedule, a spinoff film SOULM8TE dropping the following year, star and producer Allison Williams is teasing some ambitious moves for the rising M3GAN Cinematic Universe (MCU). But in a recent interview, the former Girls star dropped a chilling question about the franchises that has me asking my own questions.

Could we actually see a cross-franchise A.I. showdown in upcoming Blumhouse movies? Williams and director Gerard Johnstone recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly, and though they are keeping details about M3GAN 2.0 locked tighter than an encrypted server, their comments have sparked my imagination. The sequel aims to build on the unexpected magic of the original while taking the story to new heights, but what would an Avengers-level threat look like for the sentient dolls? The actress-turned-producer weighed in:

The idea of a full-scale “Avengers-style” event for the M3GAN Cinematic Universe might sound absurd but, considering the runaway success of the original, it’s not out of the question. The interconnected upcoming horror movies intend to expand the scope while staying true to the quirks that made the original so beloved, which, like Williams, I believe is key to keeping the movies interesting.

For Johnstone, brainstorming for sequels has always involved a playful mix of creativity and humor. The director added:

A Mad Max-style dystopia or perhaps–more fittingly–a Terminator future feels like a natural conclusion for a franchise about killer A.I. But is that the direction we want to see again? Personally, I think a more compelling route would be for M3GAN to pull a T2: Judgment Day. Imagine if she evolved beyond her villainous beginnings, gained a touch of humanity, and became a protector of sorts. That shift could open up fascinating storytelling possibilities, even setting the stage for this teased "Thanos-level threat" in the expanding fictional universe.

Speaking of the MCU—no, not that MCU. That will get too confusing—maybe we should call it the M3U (M3GAN Universe) or M3NX (M3GAN Nexus). There you go, Allison Williams and Gerard Johnstone, that suggestion is on the house! Now, back to the point: as the universe grows, Johnstone is conscious of the legacy being built, and he reflected on its broader implications:

The concept is ripe for exploration of timely themes while carving out a unique identity. The possibilities for where this horror franchise–I still think M3NX is the way to go–could feel limitless—and a protector-turned-hero M3GAN who has to team up with others or fight off fellow A.I. beings? Now, that’s a story I’d be excited for.

2025 will be a huge year for horror franchises, and one of the best scary dolls returns to the big screen when M3GAN 2.0 hits theaters on June 25 amid the 2025 movie schedule.

When we look ahead to upcoming horror movies we’re most hyped about, the return of M3GAN is certainly up there! After the artificially intelligent doll wreaked havoc on her roboticist and her niece’s life (along with showing off her viral dancing skills and an unforgettable rendition of Sia’s “Titanium” under her collar bow), she’ll be back for 2025’s M3GAN 2.0.

Considering M3GAN remains one of the best Blumhouse horror movies we’ve seen to date, for all its campiness, every new update about the second movie has us in greater anticipation for what’s to come for the murderous android and her upcoming victims. As producer Jason Blum updated on X (formerly known as Twitter) in mid-July, production has begun on the movie and it’s “time to put M3GAN back together." Check out the stacked cast for M3GAN 2.0:

Allison Williams

The roboticist behind M3GAN, Gemma, will in fact be back for the next movie. Allison Williams played the sneaky brainiac in the first M3GAN movie, and has been confirmed to return for the 2025 film. As you read through this list, you’ll notice there’s actually a lot of familiar faces, including writer Akela Cooper writing the script again and the M3GAN director Gerard Johnstone helming the sequel.

Williams has made quite the name for herself in horror in recent years, between being in one of the best horror movies of all time, Get Out, along with the underrated 2018 flick The Perfection. You also likely know Williams from HBO’s Girls and Showtime’s Fellow Travelers. We don’t know the plot of M3GAN 2.0 currently, but I'll be curious to see if Gemma is naive enough to create another version of her android, or if the first version somehow comes out of the woodwork to be rebuilt somehow.

Violet McGraw

Gemma’s niece, Cady, was played by Violet McGraw in the original 2022 movie, and she's set to play her character once again for 2.0. When we first met Cady, she had just gone through a tragedy when the eight-year-old’s parents were tragically killed in a car accident and she moved in with her aunt Gemma. She then gets paired with a prototype of M3GAN that turns rather violent and possessive of the child. Since it was announced that McGraw was cast, the young actress has said she is “literally dying to know what happens” and looking forward to working with the cast and crew. How will Cady’s next confrontation with the android play out?

Jenna Davis

Additionally, the voice behind M3GAN, Jenna Davis, has been cast in 2.0, too. The current 20-year-old provided the now iconic sound of the android’s voice whilst dancer Amie Donald portrayed the character on set. While we don’t know for sure if Donald is back as the physical M3GAN (she could have aged out), Davis’ haunting performance will definitely treat our ears.

Brian Jordan Alvarez 

Gemma’s main colleagues from the first movie will also return for the sequel. First up is Brian Jordan Alvarez’s Cole, who had a hand in the creation of the killer android. Alvarez is a comedic actor who had a recurring role in Will & Grace from 2018 to 2020 as the love interest of Sean Hayes’ Jack.

Jen Van Epps

Jen Van Epps is also back as Gemma’s other colleague, Tess. Her and Cole had a major hand in creating M3GAN, along with their decision to terminate her, so it makes perfect sense they would play a major part in the story for the sequel. The actress is just getting started when it comes to larger roles in movies and television, so coming back as Tess is exciting for the rising talent.

Ivanna Sakhno 

Our first newcomer to report for M3GAN 2.0 is Ukrainian-American actor Ivanna Sakhno in an unknown role. Star Wars fans might recognize Sakhno from her main role in the 2023 live-action series Ahsoka. Sakhno played Shin Hati, the apprentice to Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll. Elsewhere, the actress was also in 2018’s Pacific Rim Uprising, 2020’s High Fidelity remake and Netflix rom-com Let It Snow.

Jemaine Clement 

Another exciting addition to the M3GAN 2.0 cast is Jemaine Clement. The New Zealand actor gets to shoot the horror movie in his home country (since that’s where production is taking place). The hilarious actor is best known for playing the vampire Vladislav the Poker in the What We Do In The Shadows movie and series, along with voicing the role of Tamatoa in Moana. We couldn’t be more curious about how he fits in the next chapter of M3GAN.

Timm Sharp

Another comedic actor can be found in the M3GAN 2.0 cast in the form of Timm Sharp. Sharp has had memorable roles in Undeclared, ‘Til Death, Blunt Talk, Apples Never Fall and even Disney+’s Percy Jackson series as Percy’s stepdad. This is another role we don’t know anything about, but Sharp is a welcome addition.

Aristotle Athari 

The last actor to be cast in M3GAN 2.0 that we know of, per Deadline’s mid-July report, is Aristotle Athari. (Yes, another comedian!) The Iranian-American actor is best known for joining the Saturday Night Live cast from 2021 to 2022 as a “featured player”. He went viral on multiple occasions for playing a character named Angelo with Rami Malek, Billie Eilish and Daniel Craig. We can’t wait to see what he brings to M3GAN 2.0!

M3GAN 2.0 is poised to be a great time with all this talent at the center. The movie has received a release date in the middle of next summer too: June 27, 2025. It will serve as fun counter programming for the Brad Pitt F1 movie set to come out in theaters on the same day.

The M3GAN sequel is also set to come out in the middle of a big year for the return of horror franchises as well. I Know What You Did Last Summer is coming out the same month (June 18), while The Black Phone 2 will come out on October 17 and the second Five Nights At Freddy’s movie has a release date for December 5. We’ll continue to update you about M3GAN 2.0 here on CinemaBlend!

With tons of super dark horror movies in recent years, I had a blast with 2022’s M3GAN, a campy slasher about a killer A.I. doll from both Jason Blum and James Wan. At the beginning of the year, it was announced that a M3GAN sequel was officially on the way in 2025, but now we’ve learned a spinoff is also on the way from the same producers. While I was hyped already for what the future holds for M3GAN 2.0, this latest project might actually have me more amped! Let’s talk about it. 

What Is The M3GAN Spinoff? 

It was announced on Thursday that James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse are teaming up once again to make a movie called SOULM8TE. Per a press release from Blumhouse, the movie will “expand” the M3GAN universe. Oh, and it already has a release date for January 2, 2026. 

SOULM8TE is being described as an “erotic thriller” about another A.I. android. However, this time, rather than it being in the form of a girl meant to be a companion to other children, this movie will take a much more adult approach. SOULM8TE will revolve around a grieving man who has recently lost his wife. In an effort to cope with the loss, he turns to an A.I. doll of his own, but takes things too far when he tries to fill the hole with the android. The movie will be directed by Kate Dolan, who shared that she views the movie as an “exploration of relationships and loneliness.”

Why SOULM8TE Might Actually Be More Exciting Than M3GAN 2.0 

When I watched M3GAN back when it was released, I remember finding it to be a fun genre movie to pass the time, but in terms of depth… it was lacking. Now, that’s totally fine. I don’t mind turning off my brain every once in a while for a horror flick, but SOULM8TE seems like it could have the elements I was missing about M3GAN. 

Not only does SOULM8TE’s plotline have more meat to it than M3GAN, reading to me as a new spin on the Chucky movies for the A.I. generation, but there’s also some added heart there baked into it. The spinoff sounds like Black Mirror meets Her, and I’m all for it! Also, I like the idea of it being a more adult horror movie. 

For one, I think it'd be interesting for the movie to explore how this widower could perhaps be using the seduction of an A.I. sex doll to mask the grief of his loss, but also to give us a grittier version of M3GAN! I think many would agree that the Blumhouse movie went rather softball with its thrills and kills. SOULM8TE offers the chance for the universe to take a more mature (and bloody) turn! It allows its filmmakers to keep M3GAN lighter and more campy, and then take the concept to a whole new level for the spinoff. 

As we anticipate the two M3GAN movies among upcoming horror movies, you can watch the original M3GAN (and the unrated cut) now with a Peacock subscription. 

Horror fans, it’s time to get your 2025 calendar out early and circle four very important new dates! Not only is Blumhouse, the production company that has famously made great modern horror movies like Get Out, Paranormal Activity and The Invisible Man going all in on sequels next year, an exciting legacyquel has just found a place on next year’s movie slate as well. 

Per a new Variety report, Blumhouse has set up a trio of sequels to be among upcoming horror movies coming out in 2025. Additionally, Sony has finally dated the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel as well! Let’s break down all the updates. 

Five Nights At Freddy’s Sequel Nabs A Release Date

First off, after Five Nights At Freddy’s became Blumhouse’s biggest hit yet when it made $297 million worldwide while also being available to stream with a Peacock subscription on the same day, the company is moving forward with an exciting sequel. The movie based on the video game of the same name will hit theaters on December 5, 2025! That will be a week after the second part of Wicked comes out and two weeks before James Cameron’s Avatar 3. For the time being, we don’t know much about the plot details.  

M3GAN 2.0 And I Know What You Did Last Summer Are Both Coming Next Summer

Additionally, M3GAN 2.0 has changed release dates. While the movie was originally going to come out on May 16 of next year, it will now come out on June 27, 2025. The production reportedly began shooting earlier this month. The sequel’s script is once again penned by Akela Cooper and directed by Gerard Johnstone and will star Allison Williams and Violet McGraw. 

And via a press release by Sony, I Know What You Did Last Summer is going to be coming to theaters on July 18, 2025. The movie will reportedly see the return of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar to the franchise after starring in the original 1997 movie, though this hasn't been officially confirmed. Do Revenge’s Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is directing from a script by Leah McKendrick.  

The Black Phone 2 Shifts To Halloween Season 

The final big piece of horror news to take note of regards the release date of The Black Phone 2. The sequel was initially going to be coming out next June 27, but M3GAN 2.0 has snatched that date, and it will now come out on October 17, 2025. The shift allows for the creepy movie to be released at prime horror season when people are looking to get scared more than usual. 

The Black Phone 2 was announced this past October. The movie will be from the same team as the previous film, including Scott Derrickson writing and directing alongside co-writer C. Robert Cargill. 

Anyone have chills yet? There’s a lot of scary goodness in store for us in 2025! 

This past year was notably a rough one for blockbusters, as many franchise films and tentpole releases failed to generate expected interest – but for the horror genre, the exact opposite was the case. Scary movies thrived in 2023, as not only was there a clear audience hunger, but filmmakers delivered some exceptional work to both the big screen and streaming services.

I personally ended up watching more than 40 new horror movies this year, and while it was a challenge to rank them, I’ve worked to put together my list of the best of the best. It’s a diverse mix of subgenres and tones, but if you haven’t seen any of them, I recommend them all.

15. Perpetrator

This past year featured a number of surreal cinematic experiences (a few of which will appear later in this list), and Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator is most definitely a mind-bender. It has a setup of a classic coming-of-age story, centering on a young woman (Kiah McKirnan) undergoing some… unusual bodily changes as she turns 18, but it comes outfitted with some wild world-building, a slasher-adjacent plot, and a whole lot of blood.

Perpetrator is a movie that feels disconnected from reality as we know it, and it takes full advantage of that atmosphere with plenty of strange plot turns and attitudes, as well as first-rate affectation-heavy, purposefully over-the-top turns from Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Lowell. It’s an experience to which you have to open yourself up, and it’s a trip if you do.

14. Leave The World Behind

Sam Esmail’s Leave The World Behind doesn’t need big swings to instill terror. It’s a cocktail that simply mixes a remote location, a collection of strangers, disabled transportation and communication, and some seeds on confusion. There are some big set pieces, but it mostly keeps things simple – and it’s ultimately very successful in getting under your skin.

Any film is going to benefit from having a cast outfitted with A-listers, and Leave The World Behind features outstanding work from Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, and Kevin Bacon, but the movie also just feels all too real and possible, and that causes it to stick around in your brain once it delivers that shocking final needle drop and the credits roll.

13. Evil Dead Rise

This year, a horror tradition was continued. Prior to 2023, we never saw a bad Evil Dead movie, and that remains the case following the release of Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise. The action is moved from a cabin in the woods to an apartment building in Los Angeles, but that just means it has new ways of unleashing unrelenting insanity in the tradition of the ultimate experience in grueling terror.

There’s a part of me that was disappointed the movie didn’t make a tonal deviation from Fede Álvarez’s Evil Dead from 2013 (a la the differences between The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army Of Darkness), but I simply like too much about what it does for that to be my dominant takeaway. Alyssa Sutherland makes a wonderful Deadite, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed we’ll someday see a team-up between Lily Sullivan’s Beth, Jane Levy’s Mia, and Bruce Campbell’s Ash.

12. Infinity Pool

Cinema skewering the ultra-rich is very much in vogue – from Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion to Mark Mylod’s The Menu to Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn – but Infinity Pool tackles that idea as only writer/director Brandon Cronenberg can. It’s an experiment in extremes, and it’s a feast for the senses while most definitely not being for the faint of heart.

Leads Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth are certainly no strangers to this kind of extreme cinema, but that makes their performances no less bold and dazzling – with the former leading the latter deeper and deeper into a world where, thanks to a special legal loophole, the super wealthy are essentially free from any consequence. I first saw it in January, and many images it unleashed remain tattooed on my brain 12 months later.

11. M3GAN (Unrated)

When I first watched Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN at a pre-release press screening, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. The characters, story, and design are all great, but I felt that the PG-13 rating had a harmful impact on the movie’s stakes and plot escalation. That version of the film wouldn’t make it on to this list… but then I watched the unrated cut during my 2023 personal Spooky Season marathon, and it cemented a place for itself in my Top 15.

The unrated version of M3GAN is only six seconds longer, but showing the brutality of the ear ripping, the neighbor’s face burned by pesticide, and seeing Kurt (Stephane Garneau-Monten) bathed in his boss’ blood prove vital in demonstrating the extreme danger of the titular killer doll. Let off the leash, arguably the most hyped horror movie of 2023 lives up to the hype.

10. When Evil Lurks

I don’t feel like I have to say much more than “the dog and the girl” to justify the inclusion of Demián Rugna’s When Evil Lurks on my list of the best horror films of 2023. While protecting spoilers, it’s a strong contender for the most messed up thing to happen in a feature this year, and it’s going to be forever what springs to mind when reflecting on the movie. But it’s not all that the Argentinian production has to offer.

The extreme messiness of the characters’ lives adds an extra disturbing level of realism to everything that unfolds, and that pairs incredibly well with the rules that govern the titular evil. It’s well-paced, gets under your skin, and it’s ultimately so bleak that it’s hard to shake off.

9. Dark Harvest

David Slade’s Dark Harvest initially slipped under my radar when it was first released on PVOD in mid-October, but if it’s not clear by the ranking, I’m glad that I caught up with it before the end of the year. It sports a classic horror story setup – with a community being dedicated to a bizarre annual ritual as part of a tradition to stave off devastation – but it has its own twists to add to the mix and a satisfying and appropriately dark conclusion.

Compressed as the timeline of the narrative is, Casey Likes and E'myri Crutchfield provide wonderful emotional depth as leads Richie and Kelly, and I particularly enjoyed Luke Kirby’s purposefully extra turn as the intense Officer Jerry Ricks. There’s also some stellar creature design, practical effects and worldbuilding in the creation of the monstrous, pumpkin-headed Sawtooth Jack.

8. Birth/Rebirth

Marin Ireland had a superb 2023. She has a great supporting role in William Oldroyd’s dark and surprising Eileen, delivers the scariest human performance in Rob Savage’s The Boogeyman (a movie that just missed out on being on this list), and she is the best part of Laura Moss’ Birth/Rebirth. The movie delivers an excellent new twist on the Frankenstein mythos that hits its highest highs thanks to Ireland’s turn as the introverted/sociopathic mad scientist Dr. Rose Casper.

Of course, not to be sold short is Judy Reyes’ awesome work as Celie Morales – who begins the film as the audience’s anchor in reality but ends up being just as demented and dangerous as her accidental partner in resurrection. Laura Moss brings new ideas to the classic Pet Sematary maxim “sometimes dead is better,” and they’re clearly a talent to keep an eye on.

7. Suitable Flesh

As someone who loves Stuart Gordon’s H.P. Lovecraft adaptations Re-Animator and From Beyond, I am very much the target audience for Joe Lynch’s Suitable Flesh, and I love it for being the love letter that it is. There’s an unsettling darkness to the body swapping horror orchestrated by the antagonist entity, but also a thrilling and brazen sexuality that’s both rare today and is a necessary part of the homage.

Pulling a gender swap with Lovecraft’s story “The Thing On The Doorstep,” the movie provides us with the magical pairing that is Heather Graham and genre legend Barbara Crampton, and the practical horror work (highlights including the decapitation of “Ephraim” and exceptional use of a parking assist camera) is tremendous.

6. Beau Is Afraid

While Ari Aster’s Hereditary and Midsommar are almost unanimously considered instant modern horror classics, I perfectly understand that Beau Is Afraid is not for everyone. Its' plotting is manic, the pacing is akin to an arrhythmia, and the sensibilities are extreme. I, however, am an individual for whom the film contains tremendous appeal, and I love it.

It’s a cinematic interpretation of crippling anxiety, and I love it for being as funny as it is disturbing and horrifying. The titular Beau’s whole existence in his apartment complex in the film’s first act is as nightmarish as anything that played on the big screen in 2023, and that’s before he gets on the road and deals with the unrelenting insanity that is his attempt to get to his mother’s funeral.

5. Influencer

Scream queens tend to get all the love in the horror genre, but not to be sidelined are the great femme fatales, and Cassandra Naud’s CW makes for a terrific one in Kurtis David Harder’s Influencer. At the jump, you think that the main character is Emily Tennant’s Madison, a seemingly vacuous social media maven on a splashy Thailand vacation, but she is just a fly to be caught in CW’s spider web, and watching the antagonist-turned-protagonist maneuver in the aftermath is stellar stuff.

I’ll admit that I saw Influencer’s big final twist coming, but that does nothing to diminish my appreciation for what the film does successfully – including its manipulation of audience biases and CW’s clever wriggling and brutality.

4. Godzilla Minus One

The biggest problem with the MonsterVerse movies is that none of the characters are particularly memorable– and Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One is a demonstration that things could be much better. The disaster unleashed by the titular King of the Monsters is no joke and utterly terrifying (which is why it qualifies for this list), but what makes the film particularly special is the journey of Ryunosuke Kamiki’s Kōichi Shikishima and his battle with unyielding guilt in the wake of World War II.

Instead of just waiting for the next time that Godzilla shows up, the film does a spellbinding job unfolding Kōichi’s path to redemption – plagued by first his failure as a kamikaze pilot and then his inability to embrace and protect those he loves. It’s spectacular blockbuster storytelling, and it’s shocking that the film was made for under $15 million.

3. Dream Scenario

Horror is the secret weapon in Kristoffer Borgli’s Dream Scenario. The movie features an imaginative story, an off-beat character for star Nicolas Cage, and a number of big laughs – but it’s when things get scary that the film really takes off. One of the key themes of the film is the inability to control how others perceive you, and that brilliantly hits home when the narrative starts delivering literal nightmares.

Unafraid to gamble with tone, Kristoffer Borgli doesn’t pull punches when people start seeing Cage’s Paul Matthews as the perpetrator of their deepest fears, and they’re not only freaky to watch, but it’s then enthralling to watch the consequences unfold. And that’s all without recognizing the escalating nightmare that it is for Paul, as mysterious universal forces tear his life to ribbons for seemingly no reason.

2. No One Will Save You

Writer/director Brian Duffield’s Spontaneous made my personal Top 10 list when it was released in 2020, so I was naturally outfitted with high expectations prior to seeing his 2023 follow-up, No One Will Save You. I went in simply hoping to see a rad home invasion film where the invaders are classic grey aliens, but it’s really so much more, and it blew me away.

The fact that there’s no dialogue never feels like a gimmick, but it does make the film a showcase for the phenomenal acting talents of Kaitlyn Dever, as we understand everything she is feeling without the need for words. The tight narrative is not only thrilling and frequently surprising (including its bonkers ending), but the whole structure can be looked at as a fascinating reflection of the five stages of grief. It’s remarkable, and in most years, it would probably rank as my favorite of the year, but in 2023 we also got…

1. Talk To Me

Danny and Michael Phillipou's Talk To Me sports my favorite high concept plot of the year: what if teens treated possession like a party drug? This idea is a natural avenue for fun – centering on a group of charismatic teens excited by the taboo new “thing” – but when it makes its real full dive into terror, it’s akin to one’s grip on the ceramic hand at the center of the story in that it doesn’t let go.

Newcomer Sophie Wilde instantly establishes herself as a stunning screen presence (hopeful future scream queen?), and the way that the film both nimbly dances around tropes and keeps certain questions unanswered is masterful. It’s at times a brutal experience (you have to be careful not to bite your own tongue witnessing the intense scenes of Joe Bird’s Riley smashing his own head), and in addition to being my favorite horror movie of the year, Talk To Me features my favorite scary scene of the year: Mia’s glimpse into hell.

Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days and weeks for more of our lists ranking the best of the best films of 2023, and get ready for all of the cinematic scares on the way in 2024 with our upcoming horror movies guide.

We're now getting toward the end of 2023, but not fading from memory any time soon is the film that proved to be the first big hit of the year. Arriving in theaters domestically on a massive wave of social media-generated buzz, M3GAN was a massive box office hit, making $181 million before the end of its big screen run around the world. To the surprise of nobody, a sequel was given the greenlight shortly after the movie's release, and producer James Wan is teasing that M3GAN 2.0 will deliver a story that is timely and further tapped into what has become a major subject of debate: artificial intelligence.

Wan is currently preparing audiences for the release of his latest directorial effort, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, but he recently provided Empire Magazine (via Comic Book) with an update on the developing M3GAN sequel. The movie is more than a year from its scheduled release date, with Universal Pictures having put it on the calendar for early 2025, but he noted that the project is putting a specific focus on societal concerns about A.I. Said the filmmaker,

SPOILER WARNING: The rest of this article contains spoilers for M3GAN. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

James Wan's comments certainly line up with the franchise direction that is teased at the end of M3GAN. For those who don't recall, the film concludes with the titular doll being destroyed, but the final shot teases the possibility that her coding may live on in the virtual assistant known as Elise. She can likely do some serious damage now that she is not limited to a physical form... though it's hard to imagine that we won't see M3GAN back as the familiar killer doll we fell in love with back in January.

M3GAN 2.0 is being produced by both James Wan and Jason Blum, two of the most influential names in modern horror, and Akela Cooper, who wrote M3GAN, is back to write the sequel. Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are expected to return as Gemma and her niece Cady, but a director has not yet been announced.

Jason Blum has previously said that the production of M3GAN 2.0 is not being rushed, and filming isn't going to start until the conclusion of the on-going SAG-AFTRA strike. That being said, if the movie is going to be ready in time for the scheduled January 17, 2025 release date, cameras will likely need to start rolling in the first half of next year.

Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about M3GAN 2.0, and learn about all of the scary features set for release in the coming weeks and months with our Upcoming Horror Movies guide.

Artificial Intelligence is wonderful. Until it's not. Sure, we all love telling our smartphones to play "MMMBop" for us, but there may come a day when our cell phones will simply say, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave," after we've requested to hear it for the 17th time in a row.  

And, cinema has been warning us about this for decades (the A.I. turning against us part. Not the Hanson part). Movies with A.I. not playing nice (like the twisty Johnny Depp flick, Transcendence) have read the tea leaves and have shown a not-too-great future scenario if we allow A.I. to run unchecked. In fact, some people believe that A.I. may even replace creatives (some of the writer's strike is said to be centered on just that). 

There's hope though, as some are fighting against this, like the 48-Hour Challenge from the Multicultural Sci-fi Organization. In said challenge, filmmakers must make a sci-fi movie without the assistance of A.I. And, while this might not combat a rampaging T-1000, it’s at least a start. Now, on with the movies! 

2001: A Space Odyssey  

Coming out in 1968, 2001: A Space Odyssey is the oldest movie on this list, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, and arguably his masterpiece (Though, not my favorite of his) 2001: A Space Odyssey is about humankind’s journey into the stars, and the A.I. that is going to "help" us to get there.    

The movie stars Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, and a few others, but come on. Everybody knows that the true star of this movie (Or at least the “character” that people remember the most from this film) is HAL, the supercomputer. HAL is represented by a haunting red dot, and he talks calmly (maybe too calmly) whenever he’s asked a question. But, since HAL is sentient, it can also decide if it doesn’t want to follow certain commands. 

Not only that, but it can even read lips, just in case some of the wily astronauts decide that maybe it would be better to turn it off. Because we can’t have them doing that now, could we?

HAL is terrifying because it’s actually here in our lives right now... sort of. Articles have already been written up about how tech companies have been listening in to our conversations through our devices. Plus, there have definitely been incidents in my own life where I’ve said something and my phone commented on it, even though I didn’t even know it was on. So, yeah. 2001 may have been a bit early of a year to predict A.I. taking over, but it wasn’t too far off. Who knows what will happen in the next 20 years?

The Terminator  

Directed by James Cameron, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, and Paul Winfield, I find the first The Terminator to be better than Terminator 2: Judgment Day, mostly because it’s actually scary. There is no good Terminator vs. bad Terminator here. Just a bad terminator that wants to kill a woman before she can give birth to Earth’s savior.  

Everybody knows The Terminator.  It’s pretty much the de facto go to movie whenever people warn about the dangers of technology. People will regularly just blurt out “Skynet,” as a shorthand for “we’re screwed” if tech actually becomes sentient. Sure, The Terminator movies like Dark Fate seem to have lost their way in the quality department when it comes to ranking these films. But, the message is clear throughout all of them: if A.I. ever gets sick of us as a species, then we all ‘gon die.     

The Matrix  

Directed by the Wachowskis, and starring Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, and of course, Keanu Reeves in one of his most badass roles ever, The Matrix proposes the idea that we’re all just living in a simulation that A.I. has created so that it can use our bodies for food. But, there’s hope, as some people in the know are rebelling against the A.I., all to get to some giant rave in a place called Zion (but we wouldn’t really know that until The Matrix Reloaded).     

The Matrix is another one of those quintessential movies that show that Artificial Intelligence really wouldn’t think much of us if it ever started thinking for itself. We see some awesome moments of Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith relentlessly hunting Keanu Reeve’s character, Neo. But, the really distressing part is when you get to see all of the humans in those pods, as that made it feel all too real. Oh, robot overlord. If I die, please send my soul to Zion so I can dance all day in a sweaty pit.     

Ex Machina 

Directed by Alex Garland (who wrote the screenplay for Dredd, which is my favorite comic book movie of all time), and starring Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and the incomparable Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time and it still irks me that it wasn't nominated for Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards.    

The story is essentially about a programmer (Gleeson) who is offered the opportunity to stay a week at the CEO (Isaac) of his company's place, only to learn that the boss is dabbling in witchcraft (or rather, the Turing Test, which seems like witchcraft to me). The programmer is the ultimate test subject, but, as you could probably imagine given this article, things go awry. 

Ex Machina is terrifying because of the build up. We could see Gleeson’s character falling in love with the android, Ava, and how could he not? She seems so real. But, she’s not real, and Gleeson and Isaac’s characters underestimate her, which makes this really scary since we’re now seeing lifelike androids in all kinds of places these days. Creepy, spooky.    

M3GAN 

Lastly, we have M3GAN, which is a movie that I don’t know if I should be horrified with, or find hysterical (I think it’s a little of both). Directed by Gerard Johnstone off of a story by Akela Cooper, and the legendary James Wan, and starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, and Amie Donald, who portrays M3GAN, while Jenna Davis voices her, M3GAN is about a girl who loses her parents, and gets an android as a substitute. The catch is that M3GAN (which stands for Model 3 Generative Android) is meant to be the ultimate friend, as it is meant to protect its owner both emotionally and physically. 

And, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, I’m still sure that you can see where it's heading. M3GAN is like a killer doll movie, but with a more sinister bend since it has A.I. powering its decisions, rather than the spirit of some killer or something of that nature. M3GAN would probably be scarier if she didn’t break out into dance at times, but why would I want it to be scarier, when it looks like this represents our impending doom? No, thank you. Dance all you want, little robot girl. Just don’t kill me.   

And, that’s the list. A.I. can be a wonderful tool as long as we don’t let it take over our lives. All things in moderation, as they say. For more news on all things related to killer robots, make sure to swing by here often!  

As a young child, you want to know what my favorite toys were? American Girl Dolls. 

So, for that reason, I’ve always been a little weary of scary doll films, even though a few are considered some of the best horror movies of all time.

But today, instead of avoiding them, I've faced my fears to round up the best horror movies featuring truly terrifying dolls. There are the classics such as Child’s Play and some horrifying newbies, like M3GAN, but one thing is for sure, you'll never remember your childhood in the same way again.

Child’s Play (1988)

When you think of a scary doll movie, this is the movie you think of. In Child’s Play, a mother who just recently lost her husband decides to gift a doll to her son in order to cope with everything going on. As time passes, the mother begins to realize that the doll isn’t as innocent as it looks, and that there’s actually the ghost of a serial killer in there. 

Fun little fact about me – my brother once bought a doll and made it look exactly like Chucky from Child’s Play in order to scare me. Good ol’ big brother antics. But on a real note, this movie is everything and more when it comes to scary doll movies. 

Chucky is probably one of the most iconic horror movie villains of all time. You can’t really forget the way he talks, and especially the way he kills, and a whole Chucky franchise started because of this movie. If you want a series that’s seriously going to make you look closely at any dolls you have, this is the franchise to check out. 

A rebooted Chucky movie came out in 2019, starring Aubrey Plaza, but there’s nothing quite like the first one. 

Stream Child’s Play on Max.
Rent/Buy Child’s Play on Amazon.

Puppet Master (1989)

Another classic scary doll movie is Puppet Master, also leading to tons of sequels not that long after. The film, starring Paul Le Mat, is all about a group of psychics who must try to come together when a former colleague of theirs plots revenge – and he intends to use dolls, brought to life by an ancient magic, to do it. 

I think what I enjoy the most about Puppet Master is that it does feel inherently a lot more original than many other scary doll movies. It’s not just about some kid receiving a doll and it being haunted. There’s plenty to love and plenty of gore as well, so give it a shot if you have the time. 

Stream Puppet Master on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Puppet Master on Redbox.

The Boy (2016)

Starring Lauren Cohan, The Boy is a 2016 horror film directed by William Brent Bell that tells the story of a young woman from the United States who is hired as a nanny in the United Kingdom, but when she arrives, she finds that the child isn’t actually living, but is a life-size porcelain doll. 

If we’re being truthful, when I first saw this trailer, I thought this movie was going to be so bad, just because the premise felt like the easiest thing in the world. The only reason I ended up watching it was because of Cohan’s starring role, someone I love as Maggie from The Walking Dead. But then I actually ended up really enjoying it. 

The story offers plenty of fun, refreshing moments in the scary doll genre, and even in porcelain form, haunted dolls are still freaking terrifying. A sequel came out in 2020, but I’d rather stick to the original. 

Rent/Buy The Boy on Amazon.

Dolls (1987)

In this fun horror film, Dolls is the worst fear of every toy lover – where every single doll you own comes to life. The film follows a group of travelers that take shelter in the home of a puppet maker, but as the night goes on, they start to notice that the dolls there aren’t like any others – and are not going to play nice. 

I like to think of Dolls as the horror movie version of the Toy Story movies, because at first, they really do just look like normal dolls, and then out of nowhere – boom, they are literally the scariest things in existence. The cast is also a lot of fun too, with performances from Stephen Lee, Guy Rolfe, Hilary Mason, and more. 

Stream Dolls on Tubi.

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Coming from The Conjuring universe, Annabelle: Creation is the best film out of the three Annabelle movies that have been released. It follows the origins of the famous doll that is owned by Ed and Lorraine Warren, which murdered plenty of people. 

This franchise really did the impossible and made the sequels even better, really expanding on the story of Annabelle in many different ways, and the third film is where it’s taken to new heights. I truly loved watching the origin story and how it connected to the first movie, and what makes it even scarier is that this is literally based on a real-life doll, so I guess I’m not sleeping tonight. 

Stream Annabelle: Creation on Tubi.
Rent/Buy Annabelle: Creation on Amazon.

Magic (1978)

In this psychological horror film, Magic follows the story of a magician who decides to incorporate a dummy into his act using ventriloquism, but as time goes on, he starts to imagine that his dummy is talking to him – and possibly guiding him toward murder. 

There are so many reasons to love Magic. Not only is the plot really fun and an interesting take on the scary doll genre, but Anthony Hopkins is the lead and he really brings it in one of his best horror movie performances. It’s so underrated and he deserves to get more praise for it, even now. 

Stream Magic on Peacock.

M3GAN (2023)

I can’t talk about scary dolls and not talk about M3GAN. The 2023 hit tells the story of Gemma, who has to suddenly take care of her niece when her sister is killed in an accident. In order for Cady to not be alone, she gives her a doll named M3GAN, powered by A.I. technology – but the wiring soon turns faulty and she starts to hurt anyone that might harm Cady. 

I feel like M3GAN is one of those movie franchises that is going to go on forever just because of how iconic the movie was. Not only did it perform well at the box office, but it got great reviews, and a sequel is already on the way. Just wait until we all get actual M3GAN dolls in the mail – then it will have really come full circle. 

Stream M3GAN on Peacock.
Rent/Buy M3GAN on Amazon.

There are so many scary doll movies that you could watch, but these are some of the ones that I truly love the heck out of, so enjoy them with ease – and then lock up literally all your toys in a closet and look the other way afterwards. 

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like Brendan Fraser’s 2023 Oscar-winning turn as Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale has anything in common with horror movies. However, looks can be deceiving because, The Mummy actor recently explained the really cool connection the drama has with everyone’s favorite killer plaything, M3GAN.

The Whale sees Fraser taking on the role of Charlie, a character grappling with obesity and the complexities of food addiction. He had to don hundreds of pounds of prosthetics and harnesses to portray the complicated character. In an interview with Backstage, the Doom Patrol alum revealed that the make-up which made his performance possible was done by legendary make-up artist Adrien Morot, who also designed M3GAN for the 2023 sci-fi horror box-office smash. While the pint-sized murderous robot at the center of the creepy doll horror movie was designed so audiences would crawl in their skin, Charlie had to be a real-life breathing person. The prosthetics were meticulously designed to enhance Fraser’s portrayal of Charlie believably. Here’s how Fraser describes it:

Fraser’s dedication to portraying Charlie goes beyond the superficial; he has delved deep into the character’s complexities, ensuring that he resonates with the audience on a profound level. While he acknowledges the divisive reactions to the film, which received backlash, Fraser is no stranger to such polarizing reception and stands by his choices. Interestingly, the No Sudden Move actor’s worldview aligns closely with the thought-provoking theme presented in The Whale’s climax: the idea that people are inherently incapable of not caring. Fraser eagerly embraces the chance to respectfully disagree with those who take issue with the movie’s sentiments, saying:

Fraser has consistently been careful in his choice of words, adamantly refusing to label the prosthetics as a mere “fat suit.” He and his character adhered to the principles of physics and gravity, adding an extra layer of authenticity to their performances. Unlike previous actors who have tackled plus-sized roles, the George of the Jungle actor experienced the genuine physical challenges that Charlie faced due to his mobility limitations. This unique approach required make-up artist Morot to tackle the intricate task of conceptualizing prosthetics that respected the character’s identity. From prosthetic arms and legs to a chest, neck, and oversized cheeks, Charlie’s appearance was meticulously crafted. The attention to detail paid off, as evidenced by Morot’s well-deserved Academy Award nomination, especially for the compelling shower scene where Charlie bared it all.

Despite having a few upcoming projects scheduled for the 2023 new movie releases, including the highly anticipated Killers of the Flower Moon directed by Martin Scorsese, Brendan Fraser has surprisingly not confirmed his next film after his Oscar win. The accomplished actor is taking a selective approach in choosing his next venture following this significant milestone. While his future plans remain unknown, Fraser has openly expressed his interest in the possibility of another Mummy movie. And let’s be honest, who better than the talented mastermind behind the captivating looks of both Charlie and M3GAN to bring ancient creatures to life? All eyes are on you, Mr. Morot!

If you want to stay up on what Brendan Fraser chooses to do next, stay tuned to Cinemablend. Fans of the actor might also be interested in revisiting 1999's The Mummy, now streaming for anyone with a Peacock subscription. 

When M3GAN came out, I just didn’t get it. The movie ended up being super big for Blumhouse Productions at the beginning of the year. M3GAN performed well and got great reviews.The film just wasn’t for me, despite all that. I decided to watch the unrated version of the scary doll horror movie on Peacock, and I genuinely enjoyed that a lot more.

However, that’s not to say I’m not excited for the sequel. If we’re being honest, I actually am really excited about M3GAN 2.0. I look at sequels not as cash grabs, but an opportunity to improve upon its predecessor. For example – people could say that The Godfather, Part II could actually be better than the first. 

Is that what I think? Not necessarily, but there are many that would agree.  I personally think M3GAN could get even better with its sequel. So, here are five things I really hope M3GAN 2.0 gets into and explores a little more.

Gemma And Cady’s Relationship

So a big driving factor of the horror film at first was the portrayal of this relationship between Gemma (Allison Williams), the main character of the film, and Cady (Violet McGraw), the niece of Gemma, who she begins to look after when Cady's parents are tragically killed in an accident. The M3GAN cast did an excellent job in all of their roles, but for some reason, I just didn’t get them in this. Their relationship in particular felt very side-lined to what was going on with M3GAN.

That’s not a big thing, really, in the grand scheme of things. The entire film is about M3GAN slowly finding out about what she can do and doing whatever it takes to protect Cady, even taking out people that she thinks could hurt her, including Gemma. We only see a hint of Gemma truly showing signs that she cares for Cady more than just a guardianship towards the end of the film where she fights the robot. 

Up until a certain point, she was so happy to leave Cady with the doll, and I think that’s sort of what turned me off of this relationship – that Gemma was so willing to just let a robot take care of the kid that was supposed to be hers after Cady's parents were killed. I think that there’s a lot of room to improve on their relationship in the sequel and show how much they either got closer from this experience, or were torn apart. 

The Expansion Of A.I. Technology Regarding M3GAN

I’ll be honest and say that the M3GAN ending had me snorting a little. I thought it was so silly. Of course the robot uploaded her consciousness into the Alexa-like device in the film. What a hilarious way to end this movie on a cliffhanger that clearly gives an opening to a sequel. 

But the more I think about it, the more I actually wouldn’t mind it if we saw M3GAN finding ways to use smart devices as a weapon. I think of that ending and it reminds me of a Disney Channel movie I used to love, Smart House, and how the people inside slowly had to fight back against the house when it took over and tried to control their lives. 

Think that, but on a horror-movie scale, full of different ways that the house might be trying to kill the occupants, all driven by M3GAN’s backup, because it's her way of getting revenge on Gemma. Then Gemma has to somehow either destroy the house or maybe destroy the smart device or something like that. AI could be used in many ways and this would be a fun way to use it.

Exploring The Theme Of Companionship

M3GAN was on the cusp of greatness when it came to the theme of companionship, but it felt like it fell flat in the last act of the movie. 

I really did enjoy the deeper theme that the movie was trying to get at, where using M3GAN as a surrogate parent basically is only going to lead to trouble for children and the parents later on because it not only builds unhealthy attachments to objects that aren’t real, but might make it harder for children to socialize and step away from their robot. But they really only addressed that once throughout the film – and after that, that’s when Gemma started to fight back against the robot. 

I would have really loved to see that theme explored. I personally think that if we saw the effects of having a M3GAN doll on many other children besides Cady, that would have been such a great detail to show that sometimes, using A.I. technology isn’t for the better.

And then, it would furthermore establish the relationship between Cady and Gemma. This movie could have had a familial relationship like The Black Phone, which really drove that film, but hopefully in the sequel for M3GAN will get that. 

An Adversary For M3GAN

Okay, while a M3GAN x Chuckie battle would probably be the best thing ever considering Chuckie is so violent and M3GAN is so sassy, I don’t think something like that is going to happen for some time, just because of licensing deals and all that fun stuff Hollywood has to go through. 

However, I would freaking adore M3GAN to have an adversary. This humans vs. robots thing is honestly already starting to get old and if it’s going to entirely be Gemma vs M3GAN again in the sequel, it’s going to get boring really quickly. However, I do think that if there was a robot – or some other kind of adversary – that goes against M3GAN, it would be great. 

I could already imagine a M3GAN v. M3GAN fight. It would be epic. That could be something awesome. 

Bloodier Kills

This is why I liked the unrated version a little more – if you’re going to make a movie about a psychotic doll killing people while serving sass the whole time, really lean into. Make it so campy – and that includes making bloodier kills. 

It really did add to the viewing experience and made M3GAN feel a lot more threatening than she already was, and I know for a fact that if that was in the sequel, I’d enjoy the heck out of it. There’s just so much that could be done – but making a bloodier movie would be one of the first steps that could happen. 

What are you hoping to see in M3GAN 2.0? Time is ticking and I’m sure it won’t be long until we get to see this robot slaying people again and again. It’s going to be epic. 

M3GAN was something of a surprise hit when it dropped in theaters at the beginning of the year, the horror movie about an AI creepy doll that takes its role as protector a bit too seriously really hit the mark for fans, so the fact that M3GAN is being given a sequel is certainly not a shock, though the speed with which was given the green light perhaps was. Still, M3GAN’s director promises this isn’t simply about the money.

Speaking with ScreenRant M3GAN director Gerald Johnstone says that ultimately the question going into any movie, regardless of whether or not it’s a sequel, is figuring out why it needs to exist. Why he doesn’t give a great deal of information about what M3GAN 2 might be about, it seems clear the plan is to take the sequel in a slightly different direction, and not simply rehash the story of the first movie. He explained…

At the end of the day, every movie is actually about making more money. Franchise filmmaking has become the order of the day simply because an audience that has spent their money on one movie is more inclined to do so again. Having said that, we’ve seen plenty of sequels fail because money was clearly their only reason to exist. You have to give an audience something, some sort of compelling story to make them continue to care.

While we may not have any specifics on what that new story could be here, Johnston hints that the continually evolving world of AI could be that entry point. While we’re certainly not seeing AI on par with M3GAN yet, that world is growing quickly, so there will certainly be stories to tell when the sequel is ready. Johnstone continues…

It will certainly be interesting to see where M3GAN 2 takes its story. While the sequel was announced fast, there is apparently no rush in actually making M3GAN 2, as everybody wants to get it right, In the end, as long as the new movie gives fans something new, while also providing more of the somewhat bonkers story of the original film, it’s a safe bet the movie will bring in that money that it’s also looking for. 

Just two months ago, Blumhouse’s latest horror creation, M3GAN, hit theaters, and the original IP is already iconic. Between her one-of-a-kind outfit to her viral dance scene, the A.I. doll is not only making waves among movie fans, but in the fashion industry as well. That’s right, M3GAN just landed her first modeling job, and maybe famous faces like Pam Anderson and Gigi Hadid should be shaking in their heels at her debut in the space, because she looks fabulous. Plus, it’s for a huge name! 

M3GAN just modeled an outfit for Marc Jacobs on the Heaven By Marc Jacobs Instagram page. Take a look: 

The unfriendly movie doll can be pictured wearing a Deftones’ God Help Me Up zip hoodie for the brand, which is promoting its collaboration with the famed metal band and streetwear brand Stray Rats. The hoodie has a menacing skull and the band’s name in large red lettering across the front and on the sleeves. M3GAN is modeling the hoodie alongside a mini skirt and some incredible platform black boots. It’s certainly more punk rock than her usual getup that has the doll in a beige dress and large bow on her neck. 

Perhaps this is M3GAN 2.0 in progress? Following the Blumhouse horror movie finding success at the box office at the top of the year, along with earning positive praise from critics and horror fans alike, a sequel has already been greenlit, with its official title being M3GAN 2.0. But not so fast, the movie isn’t being rushed into production, as its release date set for about two years from now, on January 17, 2025. 

While we wait and see what M3GAN’s return to the big screen will be like, it’s clear the movie monster of sorts has already made a mark on pop culture given Marc Jacobs is asking the doll to be a face of its latest campaign. The horror lead is menacing, sure, but she’s also very fashionable, so why not collaborate with murderous A.I. technology? 

The fashion brand also called upon other big names like American Pie and The Big Lebowski actress Tara Reid, The White Lotus’ Michael Imperioli and fashion designer Sandy Liang to be part of this particular campaign. Additionally, Marc Jacobs recently also had icons like Paris Hilton, Selma Blair and Ashlee Simpson be part of another one of its campaigns to bring back the re-released 2000s Stam bag. Jacobs is going all in on star power this season, and M3GAN is part of it! 

After M3GAN made moves on the big screen, the movie has hit streaming with an unrated cut that has more gore and explicit language than the theatrical PG-13 version. It certainly seems like M3GAN isn’t going anywhere after her impressionable debut, and it’s quite inspired of Marc Jacobs to use the movie character in its campaign!

M3GANs and Cocaine Bears, oh my! I see what you did there, Hollywood; camp horror is back! 2023 is just getting started, but I’ve sensed the movie trend beginning to reemerge into the mainstream. Horror movies are fun again! That’s not to say I didn’t have a blast getting absolutely terrified while watching recent horror movies like X or Smile, but I also love the unique experience of seeing a scary movie that is ridiculous and knows it, you know? 

Whether you do or don’t, I want to talk about the homecoming of campy horror movies, and no, I’m not talking about Crystal Lake, even though that’s coming back too! Let’s talk about it. 

What Makes A Movie ‘Camp’?

First of all, if you’re not familiar with ‘camp,’ I’ll get you up to speed. Camp is a term that often is used to describe movies that are outrageous, corny, overly dramatic, theatrical and ironically entertaining. Think The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Show Girls, Barbarella and Death Becomes Her. Before the term became a descriptor for movies, it actually got its start in 1800s England in reference to the queer community, and has long been a term very much tied to LGBTQ+ culture when it comes to movies as well. 

Regarding ‘camp’ in horror movies, that has a long history as well. From the original Evil Dead movies and many of the Chucky movies to other classics, like Leprechaun, The Blob, Gremlins and Killer Klowns From Outer Space, so many movies from the genre have leaned into the ridiculous in the past to communicate scary premises. I think camp horror works so well because scary movies bring down your defenses with their gory and twisted concepts. Why not get us to laugh in the meantime or see something really outrageous? 

Camp doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes for a really good foil to the often dark themes of a horror movie. Oftentimes these movies have stood the test of time. Take Jennifer’s Body. That was not a hit when it came out, but now it’s a camp classic! And while a lot of camp movies have the tendency to be labeled as movies so bad they are good, I do think camp can be truly good at the same time! 

The Movies Leading The Return Of The Sub-Genre

Over the past few years, we’ve certainly seen a resurgence in horror, with social thrillers like Get Out and It Follows leading the pack, along with movies like Hereditary and A Quiet Place additionally pushing the genre forward as of late. When it comes to the horror heavy-hitters that have really led horror to a place of incredible success at the moment, it’s all about what the movie is “saying” and how cleverly it’s using the devices of the genre to move along its terrifying plotline. However, now I think the horror resurgence is shifting, and the return of camp seems to be a major trend that’s just starting to strike. 

I feel like there have been so many pitch black concepts come out over the years that Hollywood is starting to move in the other direction to the ridiculous. Before this year, there were musings of it here and there. 2019’s Ma or 2020’s Malignant are a couple of examples that come to mind that were early signals of camp horror being made by mainstream Hollywood and finding audiences. I’d even count last year’s Barbarian within the subgenre. 

I find it interesting that Universal Pictures in particular is taking chances on new camp horror movies, like M3GAN, which did really well at the box office, making $171 million worldwide. Then there's Cocaine Bear, which exceeded projections with a $23 million domestic opening weekend recently. The trend doesn’t look like it’s slowing down either between upcoming horror movies such as Nicolas Cage playing Dracula for Renfield or this summer’s The Blackening. There are plenty of horror comedies on the way that very well might lean into the camp of it all, with the option to now watch Cocaine Bear on streaming service Peacock.

Why I’m Digging Camp Horror In 2023

Why am I rooting for camp horror? That's plain and simple: it’s fun, especially when it comes to many of us going back into the world and going out to the movies with friends and such more frequently after being in our houses so much and witnessing a lot of heavy turmoil in real life. It’s fun to laugh at and unground ourselves for a little bit with scary doll movies like M3GAN and straight-up ridiculousness like Cocaine Bear. 

Both movies are touching on big topics like the pitfalls or technology... or of giving bears hardcore drugs, but in both scenarios, it’s not that deep and that’s okay! There’s something inherently entertaining about the lack of pretentiousness of camp horror after so many complex concepts have gone through our eyeballs over the years. 

Why It’s The Right Time For A Campy Horror Resurgence

Aside from camp horror really bringing people together and perhaps even saving the movie industry right next to Tom Cruise, I feel like Hollywood has been picking the bones on a lot of dead properties as of late (recently with the anti-climactic new Halloween trilogy) just to do it, and it’s about time for some wild and crazy ideas to start being thrown at the wall. M3GAN was an example of this, and it’s already getting a sequel. The horror genre has been reviving a lot of old franchises and using a ton of distressing string instruments to build tension in the more dramatic ones; it’s getting too predictable. 

Now, I’m not saying Hollywood should stop making serious, important movies – I love serious, important movies, especially in terms of the horror kind. And hey, there’s most certainly room for both types of horror movies to exist. I want to see Jordan Peele’s latest horror movie, but I also want to see M3GAN sing a rendition of “Titanium” in between killing people. Leave it to crazy original concepts to shake things up and perhaps inspire more filmmakers with their success to go ham on something weird as well. 

Warning: SPOILERS from M3GAN are in play. If you haven’t seen either version of the film, you’ve been warned. 

Universal and Blumhouse landed the first hit of the 2023 new movie releases thanks to the sensation that is M3GAN. Director Gerard Johnstone and writer Akela Cooper delivered a horror-comedy that’s a sharp PG-13 satire enjoyed by teens and adults alike. Which, of course, almost assured that there was an unrated cut destined for release; something that Cooper confirmed as the film was hitting its theatrical stride.

As both versions of M3GAN are now available to watch with a Peacock subscription, we can now compare the two and separate the big differences between them. So consider this the last call for those of you who don’t want to run into any spoilers, lest you upset M3GAN. If you need to jump out to enjoy this colorful madness, you now know where to go.

Those of you ready to split hairs, rip some ears and learn all the differences between these two versions of M3GAN can stay put. It’s time to dance our way into what’s so different about this new cut, and why it’s worth watching.

M3GAN’s Big Attacks Are Noticeably Gorier

The short short version of what makes M3GAN’s unrated cut different comes down to the two traditional vices of horror movies: blood and swearing. There isn’t a huge tidal wave of bloody mayhem in this new version, if that’s what you’re looking for. In terms of the bloody content in Blumhouse’s latest horror hit, it’s also more about quality versus quantity.

While M3GAN physically kills all but one of her victims, there’s more blood present in those violent delights of the unrated version. Turning these moments into slightly more visceral affairs cranks up the horror and excitement a little more, but doesn’t substantially change the movie. If there’s anything that more notably tweaks the tone, it’s the profanity that’s added back in.

There’s Substantially More Swearing, With David Getting Some Of The Best Moments

Everyone knows that in a PG-13 movie, you can only have so much blood, and one usage of the word “fuck.” That happens to be the swear word of choice in the unrated cut of M3GAN, while in the theatrical cut we only hear the vicious Brandon (Jack Cassidy) use that word. According to a contributor for Movie-Censorship.com, there are 12 F-bombs in the newly released version, versus the singular usage in that PG-13 theatrical cut. 

Shifting into the world of the unrated, the F-bombs fly more frequently, with Funki Toys CEO David (Ronny Chieng) using that word to the best effect. Moments of frustration and victory play even better with David throwing around these increased instances of profanity. The MVP moment that showcases this is when M3GAN takes a line from Chieng’s character and improves it as follows::

Adding in the swearing isn’t some gratuitous decision, as there’s quite a bit of thinking that’s gone into where those extra profanities go. What also makes M3GAN’s unrated version worth watching is the bloodier, and more detailed kills. Which, in some cases, do happen to take place near an instance of choice swearing. More on that later, as it’s time to get into the gory details.

More Blood Is Present When M3GAN Rips Brandon’s Ear Off

One thing that always kind of felt weird in M3GAN was the moment where the title character pulls Brandon’s ear off in the woods. Blood is shown in the aftermath of that incident, but the actual removal itself is a bit too clinical. Going unrated sees Brandon’s former hearing organ becoming a bit of a gusher more befitting of the blood we see covering the wound just moments later. 

Oh, and don’t mind that smear of Brandon’s blood on the road. That’s in both versions of M3GAN, so we don’t have to talk about that. Interestingly enough, bloody aftermaths are the specialty of the PG-13 cut, rather than showing some of the film’s more violent acts in greater detail. The late neighbor of Gemma (Allison Williams) and Cady (Violet McGraw) could speak to that point quite intimately, except the unrated version makes that a bit harder. 

Celia’s Deadly Face Peel

One of the conflicts that gets under M3GAN’s silicone skin is the one that takes place between Gemma and her neighbor Celia (Lori Dungey). An opening in the fence between their properties leads to little Cady having an incident where Celia’s dog Dewey bites her arm. M3GAN uses that moment to justify killing the dog, and it eventually leads to her killing the ever-suspicious Celia. 

M3GAN’s method of choice in this killing was a power washer, which one would expect to leave some marks we don’t see in the theatrical version. The version of events we saw in the PG-13 cut shifts to a puddle of red-tinted water washing into the gutter as the sign that Celia is no more. In M3GAN’s unrated cut, however, we see the soon to be dead neighbor’s face tear open a bit because of said power washer. Not only is this more scientifically accurate, it’s definitely more harrowing to watch. 

David's Death Leaves A Lot More Evidence

Going back to another choice moment of Ronny Chieng’s David swearing to comedic effect, he drops another perfectly placed F-bomb when chastising Gemma (Allison Williams) in his final phone call. The moment takes place right before the scene that inspired the iconic M3GAN dance meme takes place, with our killer doll disassembling a paper cutter so that she has a blade to stalk her prey with. 

As you’ll see in both versions, David meets his end by M3GAN's trusty steel in the same way, at the same moment. The big difference is, the unrated version scores another win for more realistic, and visually appealing, carnage. 

When M3GAN kills David in the doorway to the elevator, it’s clean as a whistle in the PG-13 version. Her blade still has blood on it, but we don’t see poor Kurt (Stephane Garneau-Monten) showered in the aftermath. Though we see a bloodied elevator scene from a distance in the theatrical cut, the unrated gives us a blood-soaked take on M3GAN’s framing of Kurt afterwards. This on its own leads to another huge difference.

We Actually See Kurt Die On Screen, And In A Different Fashion

Oh poor Kurt. If only he hadn’t tried to sell company secrets and wasn’t in the elevator when M3GAN killed David, he may have lived. But as we saw in PG-13 Land, Kurt is made to look like he stabbed himself through the neck in order to cover M3GAN’s tracks. The resulting death isn’t shown on screen, as we only see the robot’s hands push the blade in Kurt’s direction. 

Meanwhile, the unrated version of M3GAN amps up the blood yet again. Kurt’s neck now gets sliced with the improvised blade M3GAN took from a paper cutter, and we see the effects. A not-so-healthy gush of blood comes out, leaving Kurt to his always fatal fate. That about wraps it for the additions of gory violence added back into this James Wan-produced horror show, although there’s one last bit of swearing we’d like to close things out on.

M3GAN Gets An F-Bomb Of Her Own

Look, if you’re an evil doll with an attitude, you’re going to probably want to swear yourself. Not to reopen the whole “M3GAN vs. Chucky” debate, but that’s one factor the new Universal challenger would have failed if it was one we’d used to judge the competition.

At least, it would have been without the advent of M3GAN’s unrated cut. During the third act climax where M3GAN has Gemma by the throat, she warns her human creator to keep her young niece in her room. The warning she delivers without a PG-13 changes into this now extra punchy line: 

M3GAN wasn’t playing round in her theatrical version, and she’s certainly not pulling any punches now that she’s off the leash. It’s kind of amazing that Universal has released this version to the world, especially so quickly after the movie made itself a theatrical success story. How this new, meaner version of M3GAN affects what we know about M3GAN 2.0 is still unknown. 

What we can say though is that we should all hope for that next chapter to be submitted to the same careful decision making process the first runaway hit saw in play. Besides, whatever doesn’t make the theatrical version can go into the unrated cut, and that’s part of the fun when revisiting a movie like this on streaming and home entertainment.

For now, enjoy M3GAN however you choose on Peacock! Or, if you’re a physical media fan, look for the home entertainment release of the M3GAN Unrat3d Version on March 21st. 

Last Sunday, there were a number of positives to be found in the opening weekend box office performance of Peyton Reed's Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania. The Marvel blockbuster notably didn't get the kind of critical reception that films in the franchise typically do, but it still managed to be the 31st straight MCU title to open at #1, and it became the first title in the Ant-Man series to bring in over $100 million domestically in three days.

Cut to one week later, the tone in the conversation has definitely shifted, as the Marvel sequel just experienced the worst second weekend drop in the MCU. 

Check out the full Top 10 in the chart below, and join me after for analysis.

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania Suffers A 70 Percent Weekend-To-Weekend Drop

In last week's box office column, I pointed out that Marvel has been developing a bad second weekend problem ever since the launch of what has been dubbed The Multiverse Saga. While MCU movies previously demonstrated solid legs if the aftermaths of their big screen debuts, the average weekend-to-weekend percentage drop has gone up a scary nine percent compared to what the franchise accomplished in its first 11 years launching hit after hit. Not only has Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania added to this trend, but it's also set an unfortunate new record.

Cate Shortland's Black Widow (68 percent), Chloé Zhao's Eternals (62 percent), Jon Watts' Spider-Man: No Way Home (67 percent), Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (67 percent), Taika Waititi's Thor: Love And Thunder (68 percent), and Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (63 percent) all saw big drops in their earnings after their opening weekends, but Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania has set a new low bar by being the first MCU film to drop 70 percent in its sophomore Friday-to-Sunday. (It's worth noting that Destin Daniel Cretton's Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings is the one exception to the 60 percent-plus trend, as it only dropped 54 percent in September 2021.)

To put its numbers in a bit more context, the new comic book movie only made about $3.1 million more than what Peyton Reed's Ant-Man And The Wasp made in its second weekend back in 2018, and that's despite the 2023 release making $30.3 million more than its predecessor in its first three days.

There are obviously a lot of factors to account for when analyzing any film's performance in its second weekend – such as new release competition and the shrinking in theaters-to-streaming windows since the start of the pandemic – but in this particular case, it's hard not to consider the influence of buzz and word of mouth (or lack thereof). Looking at opening weekend numbers, it's clear that Marvel fans were excited to see the big screen debut of Jonathan Majors' Kang The Conqueror, the franchise's new, heavily promoted, Thanos-level big bad, but one has to wonder if the 48 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and underwhelming "B" grade on CinemaScore had an impact on movie-goers on the fence about whether or not to go to the theaters or simply wait a few weeks and make use of Disney+ subscriptions.

Despite the issues that Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania is having domestically, it still appears that the film is going to be profitable for Marvel Studios. To go with the $167.3 million that the movie has made in the United States and Canada to date, the film, according to The Numbers, has brought in $196.3 million from foreign markets – bringing its global total to date to $363.6 million. With the reported budget for the blockbuster being $200 million (per IndieWire), not including publicity and marketing costs, the film may not quite be in the black just yet, but analysts are certainly not going to be able to call it a flop.

It will be interesting to see how or if these developments with Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania will end up affecting the future box office outlook of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Needless to say, there is going to be some extra eyes and particular scrutiny in play when James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives in theaters the first weekend of May.

Cocaine Bear Is Off To A Solid Start But Didn't Quite Put Up M3GAN Numbers

Earlier I mentioned competition as a contributing factor to a film's second weekend at the box office, and it is worth noting that Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania did have a fight on its hands going toe-to-toe with Elizabeth Banks' Cocaine Bear the last three days. The inspired-by-a-true-story horror comedy earned a great deal of buzz following the premiere of its trailer last fall, and about three months later that has translated to a solid debut.

Analysts have drawn comparisons between Cocaine Bear and Gerard Johnstone's M3GAN – the films being non-sequel/non-adaptations with outrageous premises released by Universal Pictures – and while the new release didn't do quite as well as the PG-13 killer doll movie, the numbers are comparable. Opening in second place behind James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water, M3GAN made $30.4 million when it debuted in mid-January, and Cocaine Bear came up just short of that with an estimated $23.1 million. That's solid when one takes into consideration that the latter cost only between $30-35 million to make (according to Deadline) and sports a more profit restrictive R-rating. 

The best thing of all? Between Cocaine Bear, M3GAN, M. Night Shyamalan's Knock At The Cabin, and Tommy Wirkola's Violent Night, Universal Pictures has spent the last three months making hits out of non-franchise titles, and it's a great thing to see in the current landscape of Hollywood.

With the start of March this week, the box office is going to continue delivering plenty of excitement for movie-goers – starting with Michael B. Jordan's Creed III and Guy Ritchie's Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. Be sure to head back to CinemaBlend next Sunday to see what kind of shakeups happen in the Top 10, and take a look at our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to discover all of the titles heading to theaters in the coming weeks and months.

How To Watch M3GAN Online

Some of the best horror movies of all time have been centered on creepy dolls coming to life and bringing chaos to every living thing around them. We’ve seen it with the Child’s Play franchise, the various Puppet Master movies, and even titles like Annabelle over the years, with terrifying results all around. Though this horror subgenre has never really died out, a new addition, M3GAN, came out of nowhere in January 2023 and gave it new life and perhaps a new horror icon in the making.

If you weren’t one of the millions of people who braved the cold weather to watch it on the big screen earlier this year, don’t worry, because now you have a chance to watch M3GAN streaming, as the box office smash hit can be viewed from the comfort of your own home, with or without a lethal android.

How To Watch M3GAN Online In The US

If you currently have a Peacock Premium subscription, you are one step closer to seeing what all the fuss is about with M3GAN, as the new horror movie was added to the platform on February 24, 2023, further bolstering the service’s massive library of new and recent movies streaming. This also includes the Academy Award-nominated Tár, which was added to the service in late January.

Stream M3GAN on Peacock now. Costing as little as $4.99 a month, you can also pay more for Peacock Premium and enjoy ad-free streams and the option to download titles to watch offline later.

Outside of the US and can't access your Peacock TV subscription? Download a VPN and follow the instructions below to watch M3GAN from anywhere. 

How To Watch M3GAN From Anywhere

If you're a US citizen on vacation or working overseas, you can still watch M3GAN just as you would at home. 

While Peacock TV is a US-only streaming service and blocks access from IP addresses outside of the States, there's a handy piece of software called a VPN which can change your IP address to make it look like you're accessing streaming services from any country in the world. 

For example, US citizens outside of the country can subscribe to a VPN, join a US based server and tune into all of Peacock TV's full catalog from anywhere in the world, just like you would back home. 

Step-By-Step Of Using A VPN To Unblock:

1. Choose a VPN and install it - our go-to recommendation is ExpressVPN

2. Connect to a server - for Peacock TV, for example, you'll want to connect to a server based in the US

3. Go to the live stream you wish to access - for M3GAN, head to Peacock TV

Are There Other Ways To Watch M3GAN? 

You don’t have to miss out on all of M3GAN’s meme-able moments in the event you have yet to sign up for a Peacock Premium subscription, as you can watch the insanely popular horror movie in a variety of different ways, both now and in the future. 

The movie is currently available as a premium VOD title on services like Amazon, and is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital, March 21, 2023. But if you prefer to see the movie, and its viral dance scene, on the big screen, there’s a good chance your local theater is still playing it for a little while longer. 

Buy (or rent) M3GAN on VOD on Amazon.
Pre-order M3GAN on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Check local listings for M3GAN.

M3GAN Trailer

If You've Already Seen M3GAN...

If you have already watched M3GAN, either in the theater or you’re finding this after watching it streaming on Peacock, stick around, because CinemaBlend has a vast collection of articles written about the horror movie, with more surely on the way…

First, there is Eric Eisenberg’s favorable review (3.5 out of 5 stars) of the horror romp in which he praised the tone of the movie as well as the filmmaking techniques that brought the titular android to life. You can also check out our roundup of the critical response M3GAN received following its release in January.

Now could also be a good time to take a look at our analysis of the M3GAN ending, which goes into all the details about the final tease in addition to an alternate ending that was considered. And, don’t forget to check out our breakdown of the M3GAN cast so you can figure out where you’ve seen all the actors before.

Well, this should help get you on your way to watching M3GAN streaming. If you want to know what big theater experiences are on the horizon, check out our 2023 movie release schedule, which seems to get more stacked with each passing day.

It’s still pretty early into 2023, but one movie that’s already enjoyed a lot of positive reception from critics and audiences alike is M3GAN, the Blumhouse feature about an artificially intelligent doll who starts wreaking havoc on anyone who she sees as coming between her and the young girl she looks after. Opening in theaters on January 6, M3GAN is still playing on various big screens, but for those of you who are Peacock subscribers, there’s good news. That promised unrated cut of M3GAN is coming to the streaming service soon!

Starting on Friday, February 24, two versions of M3GAN will be able to stream on Peacock: the theatrical version that’s been available to the masses since January 6, and the all-new unrated version containing never-before-seen footage. M3GAN is the latest Blumhouse movie to be added to the Peacock library, with others including You Should Have Left and Sinister, as well as the service’s original offerings Sick and They/Them (which CinemaBlend reviewed as 3.5 out of 5 stars). Peacock is also where you can stream recent releases like Spoiler Alert, TÁR, Ticket to Paradise, Bros, She Said and Violent Night.

It’s unclear how much longer the unrated cut of M3GAN will be compared to the theatrical version, but if you walked out of the movie liking it, yet wishing it’d been an R-rated flick rather than operating within PG-13 confines, you’ll now be able to see what that looks like. Less than a week after M3GAN opened in theaters, Akela Cooper, the movie’s writer, acknowledged that she understood why Universal Pictures went the PG-13 route with M3GAN given how teenagers got in on the meme craze focused on the title doll, then indicated that there would be an unrated cut released “at some point.” Sure enough, it’ll be available to watch in a week’s time.

M3GAN’s eponymous character was physically portrayed by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis, and the rest of the cast included Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Stephane Garneau-Monten and Lori Dungey, among others. Housebound director Gerard Johnstone helmed the feature, and it was produced by Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum and James Wan. Made off a reported $12 million budget, M3GAN has made over $168 million worldwide as of the time of this writing.

The unrated M3GAN cut’s forthcoming release isn’t the only thing to look forward to if you’re obsessed with this killer doll. M3GAN 2.0 has also been greenlit for release on January 17, 2025, though Jason Blum has said the sequel won’t be rushed into production since the script still hasn’t been written. If this still isn’t enough M3GAN-y goodness for you, check out the Saturday Night Live sketch about how a M3GAN sequel catering to gay men would look.

Once again, both the theatrical and unrated versions of M3GAN will be available to stream on Peacock come February 24. In the meantime, look over the 2023 new movie releases and see which cinematic entertainment looks worth checking out later in the year.

Beware of minor spoilers for M3GAN down below.

M3GAN is the horror movie we didn’t know we needed. Now, it'll end up being the next big horror film franchise for this generation. All it took was the killer doll movie getting the meme treatment after its wild trailer came out, and it was already speculated that a sequel would be in the cards. Luckily, our prayers have been answered in that M3GAN 2 is officially happening, but Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum explains why this highly-anticipated sequel isn’t being rushed into production.

They say that good things come to those who wait. That means we’ll all have to do a lot of waiting for M3GAN 2.0 as you can’t rush art. In an interview with Empire, M3GAN’s producer Jason Blum explains why they’re taking their time crafting this horror sequel, which isn’t expected to come to theaters until January 2025.

I wouldn’t be surprised if M3GAN 2 was nothing short of bigger and better. M3GAN’s ending gave us a final tease of the original doll being destroyed after an intense battle with Gemma and Cady only for Gemma’s smart home device to turn on its own. Could this mean M3GAN will exist in the form of other technical devices in the town like in Eagle Eye? Or could the M3GAN sequel get the I, Robot treatment where we get a whole army of M3GAN dolls? With viral marketing showing a team of M3GANs doing that viral dance at the film’s premiere and a halftime performance at the Chargers-Rams game, we kinda get the idea of what we’re in for if M3GANs decide to take over the world.

Two months before M3GAN’s theatrical release, the New York Times reported that Universal was so impressed with the hype that this sci-fi horror film was receiving that they were thinking about a sequel. As M3GAN blew past box office predictions making double what was estimated, it was a given this AI robot’s story wasn't over yet. What we know about the horror sequel so far is that its stars Alison Williams and Violet McGraw will be returning as well as writer Aleka Cooper. Producer James Wan also has an idea of where he’d like the world of M3GAN to go with plans of taking things to a whole other level. With a title like M3GAN 2.0, I’d like to hope that also means we'll get a new halftime show-worthy dance routine for the next one. Blum may have broken his “cardinal rule” about imagining a sequel to his works before it hit theaters, but that clearly means he has faith that M3GAN is a horror project that could bring about the same legacy that the Child’s Play series brought out to audiences in the ‘80s. 

The success that M3GAN brought to Universal and the horror genre, in general, is completely unbelievable and groundbreaking. Initial reactions said M3GAN was “worth the hype” as well as being “creepy,” “fun,” and “slays.” Critical reviews were also raving about the box-office topper in introducing us to a new horror villain and successfully blending comedic campy qualities into it. Its Rotten Tomatoes score even matched up with Get Out’s 98% score when it first came out. That’s very impressive as M3GAN could have easily been too campy of a film for audiences to take seriously with all of its meme-able moments, but it proves that a movie has the potential to live up to its hype as long as we give it a chance.

It may be a slow and steady process to get M3GAN 2.0 up and running, but I’m confident the wait will be worth it. While you wait for the M3GAN sequel in January 2025, you can keep track of 2023’s new movie releases to add to your watchlist.  

When Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike's Last Dance was announced in late 2021, it was revealed that the film was going to be an HBO Max exclusive... but that plan got upended last September. At that time, it was revealed that Warner Bros. had enough confidence in the release to not just give it a streaming debut, but instead let it go to theaters. It was a logical move when one looks at the history of the franchise... but now the numbers are in, and they're not exactly (if you'll pardon the wordplay) magical.

Magic Mike's Last Dance debuted this past Friday in cinemas, and it is now the number one movie in America, but calling it a success would be getting ahead of ourselves, as it nor any other film playing on the big screen this past weekend managed to earn more than $10 million. Check out the full Top 10 below and join me after for analysis.

Magic Mike's Last Dance Underperforms Compared To Magic Mike And Magic Mike XXL

The reason why the decision to move Magic Mike's Last Dance from HBO Max to theaters seemed logical was because of the franchise's history. When Steven Soderberg's Magic Mike first hit theaters in 2012, it didn't win a box office crown in its opening weekend (it got beat by Seth MacFarlane's Ted), but it did make a strong second place showing by earning $39.1 million in its first three days. About three years later, Gregory Jacobs' Magic Mike XXL also didn't claim the top spot,  but its fourth place finish still saw it make $12.3 million. Worldwide, both films ended up making over $100 million – but its unclear now if the trilogy capstone will be able to reach similar heights.

Making only $8.2 million this past weekend, Magic Mike's Last Dance earned enough to steal the top spot at the box office from last week's big winner, M. Night Shyamalan's Knock At The Cabin, and it prevented James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water from reclaiming the #1 spot, but those are definitely the most positive angles from which to look at the results. Otherwise, there isn't much to rave about here.

Unfortunately, this is the second time in 2023 that we've seen underwhelming results for a Warner Bros. film that was originally going to be an HBO Max exclusive. Calmatic's House Party was also planned to be a streaming original prior a change in distribution that saw the movie start playing in cinemas last month. That release also notably underperformed – though that feature's opening weekend saw it make less than half of what Magic Mike's Last Dance earned in the last few days.

What makes these results particularly tough is that Magic Mike's Last Dance was not a particularly inexpensive production. Variety reports that it was made with a budget in the $40 million range, and that total was matched with a $20 million marketing campaign. It's never a good sign when a film makes less than 15 percent of its costs back in its opening weekend,  and the new release starring Channing Tatum is now in a position where, to be considered successful, it will have to demonstrate some strong legs and put up some big overseas numbers.

According to The Numbers, Magic Mike 3 has already made $10.4 million outside of the United States and Canada, putting its global earnings at $18.6 million, but making money in the coming weeks is going to be tough. For starters, upcoming competition is going to spell trouble, as we are now just days away from the release of the next Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster – namely Peyton Reed's Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania – and it looks like that film is going to steal a lot of attention in its opening weekend.

Also, the buzz for the film isn't nearly as strong as the word of mouth for its predecessors. The critical response to Magic Mike's Last Dance has resulted in a 46 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a 78 percent for Magic Mike and a 65 percent for Magic Mike XXL. We'll have to wait and see if Channing Tatum's abs can end up giving the movie some legs.

Titanic's Re-Release Stops Avatar: The Way Of Water From Surpassing It On The All-Time Worldwide Box Office Charts

Other than Magic Mike's Last Dance, the only other new title playing in wide release this weekend was James Cameron's Titanic – celebrating its 25th anniversary – and while the film performed solidly, the most significant thing about the results is the fact that it stopped Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water from climbing further up the All-Time Worldwide box office rankings. The 1997 hit made less than the Avatar sequel in the last three days, but the ticket sales were enough to keep the epic disaster movie in front of the sci-fi blockbuster and let it hold on to third place.

With all of its re-releases from the past two-and-a-half decades counting toward its box office numbers, Titanic still sits in front of Avatar: The Way Of Water, but less than $1 million presently separate the features. As such, the box office results from this weekend will end up being seen as merely a delay for Avatar 2's ascension into the list of the top three highest grossing films ever made 

In Round 2, 80 For Brady Proves More Popular Than Knock At The Cabin

Depressing as this weekend's box office results are, one interesting development worth pointing out is the title flip-flopping in the rankings compared to last weekend. When the early numbers came in last Sunday, Knock At The Cabin had managed to outgross Kyle Marvin's 80 For Brady by about $2 million, but now, one week later, the former is sitting in fifth place, and the latter is right above it in fourth place.

Neither movie had particularly impressive showings in their sophomore weekends, but 80 For Brady did have a better weekend-to-weekend percentage drop: 53 percent compared to 61 percent. One has to wonder if perhaps Super Bowl fever may have had some kind of an impact, giving the football-themed comedy a leg up over the home invasion thriller in the days leading up to the big game. As things stand, both films have made nearly the same amount of money domestically, though the M. Night Shyamalan release has also earned $13.3 million overseas to pad its domestic total.

As mentioned, things will be shaken up at the box office in a big way this coming weekend, as Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania will be arriving in theaters and hoping to continue Marvel Studios' streak of #1 films. Be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday to see how the blockbuster shakes things up, and check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to discover all of the titles scheduled to be released in the coming weeks and months. 

For the last seven weeks, James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water has been unbeatable at the box office. Released in mid-December, the film has faced off against some notable competition, including Gerard Johnstone's M3GAN, but every Sunday the sci-fi blockbuster has been featured at the top of the charts. That streak, however, breaks today, as M. Night Shyamalan's Knock At The Cabin and Kyle Marvin's 80 For Brady have proven to be a one-two punch that has knocked the Avatar sequel down to third place.  

Check out the numbers posted by both the new releases and the holdovers from past weeks in the Top 10 below, and then join me after for analysis. 

M. Night Shyamalan Has His Seventh #1 Hit With Knock At The Cabin

With Avatar: The Way Of Water functioning as an unstoppable hit through January, there has been speculation for a while now wondering if Knock At The Cabin would be the first new title in a month-and-a-half to take over the top spot at the weekend box office, and the film succeeded in that mission. The film made $14.2 million during its first three days – which isn't exactly a mind-blowing figure when you look at M. Night Shyamalan's history, but it was good enough.

This marks the seventh time since the release of The Sixth Sense in 1999 that Shyamalan has had a directorial effort win the box office in its first Friday-to-Sunday, and it solidifies a hot streak that he's had going with his last few films. After the release of The Village in 2004, the director had six titles fail to grasp that particular brass ring – 2006's Lady In The Water, 2008's The Happening, 2010's The Last Airbender, 2013's After Earth, and 2015's The Village – but things have been going much better since Split arrived in theaters in January 2017.

Since the release of M. Night Shyamalan's backdoor Unbreakable sequel, the filmmaker has only produced movies that have turned out to be number one hits in their opening weekends. Glass did the trick in January 2019, Old pulled it off in late July 2021, and now Knock At The Cabin is his latest win. It's the first time in Shyamalan's career that he's had such a streak.

As noted, the domestic ticket sales for the new release aren't exactly record shattering, but they are solid based on post-2020 standards. According to Deadline, Knock At The Cabin was made with a reported $20 million budget, and the film has already made more than that when you factor in the additional $7 million that has been earned overseas (per The Numbers).

How well it will do long-term is unclear. When it comes to buzz, the results have been a bit middling, as Rotten Tomatoes features both critics and audience scores between 60 and 70 percent, and survey results from CinemaScore have the film graded with a "C." It seems that people are liking Knock At The Cabin, but not loving it, and that may not result in a boost from word of mouth.

Regardless of what happens in the coming weeks, we can at the very least call this another win for horror, which has been among the most consistent genres as of late when it comes to drawing interest from mass audiences. Movie-goers' were clearly curious about potential scares and thrills provided by the new release starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn, Rupert Grint, and the result is a fresh title at the top of the box office.

80 For Brady Puts Up Solid Numbers For A Comedy, Showing There's Life In The Genre

One of the biggest issues facing cinema distribution in the time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been luring older audiences back to the big screen. While superheroes and horror have been depended on by studios to bring in young money, there's been a drought when it comes to non-prestige wide releases aimed specifically at adults. 80 For Brady, a football movie released just before the Super Bowl, was released to fill that void, and it worked effectively – also proving that theatrical comedies aren't totally dead.

The film stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Sally Field as a group of octogenarians who go on a road trip together to see their favorite quarterback play in a championship, and it managed to make $12.5 million during its first three days in wide release. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the results were diminished due to winter weather conditions in New England (a.k.a. the home of Tom Brady's most die-hard fans), but the new release still managed to find an audience, and targeting worked. Per the trades sources, tickets were mostly purchased by older, female movie-goers.

The buzz is a bit stronger for 80 For Brady than Knock At The Cabin, with the former sporting a better Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an "A-" grade from CinemaScore surveys, but its legs may be a bit more questionable – if not especially because of the NFL playoffs officially coming to an end next week. Will audiences be excited to see the comedy when there is less football-related electricity in the air? We'll find out next Sunday.  

Avatar: The Way Of Water Passes Titanic On The Overseas Box Office Charts

Avatar: The Way Of Water may not be the number one movie domestically anymore, but that doesn't mean that it's not still performing incredibly well and reaching new milestones. For starters, the $10.8 million it has made since Friday is nothing to shrug at (another sub-40 percent weekend-to-weekend drop), but more importantly, the film is getting ever closer to becoming the third biggest international hit of all time.

While Avatar 2 has not yet made more money than James Cameron's Titanic worldwide (which means factoring in domestic earnings), the sci-fi blockbuster has now outgrossed the 1997 film in markets outside of the United States and Canada, according to Variety. Per Box Office Mojo, only $20.3 million separate the two titles on the all-time chart... though that number is expected to change in funny ways next week due to the fact that Titanic will be getting yet another wide release next Friday to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Titanic is one of two films aiming to try and shake up the Top 10 next week, as Friday will also see the release of Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike: The Last Dance. Be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday to see how everything shakes out, and check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to learn about all of the titles scheduled to hit the big screen in the coming weeks and months.

At this time last year, the situation at the box office was pretty disappointing. With January 2022 coming to a close, the biggest hit from the previous December (namely Jon Watt's Spider-Man: No Way Home) was still at the top of the charts, and while a buzzy new horror movie (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's Scream) and a hit animated sequel (Garth Jennings' Sing 2) were making money, pretty much everything else was just hanging on.

Fast forward 52 weeks, and we're looking at almost the exact same situation: the big blockbuster from December (James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water) is still on top, and while features from the realm of horror (Gerard Johnstone's M3GAN) and animated sequels (Joel Crawford's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) are doing well, there isn't a lot else to be excited about. If not for Marc Forster's A Man Called Otto and Siddharth Anand's Pathaan, it would actually be spooky. Check out the full Top 10 below, and join me after for analysis.

Surpassing Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avatar: The Way Of Water Is Now The Fourth Biggest Film Of All Time Worldwide

One leg up that Avatar: The Way Of Water has on the aforementioned Spider-Man: No Way Home is the length of its reign. While the Marvel movie from Sony won the weekend box office for six out of its first seven weeks (having been bumped by Scream in its debut), James Cameron's return to Pandora has been the hottest thing in theaters for all seven of its Friday-to-Sundays thus far. That has resulted in a domestic sum that presently stands at $620.6 million – but that's literally less than half of the picture.

Outside of the United States and Canada, Avatar: The Way Of Water has more than doubled that total in ticket sales, having thus far made $1.5 billion. All together the blockbuster has earned $2.1 billion worldwide, and, as has been officially announced by the Walt Disney Company in a press release, the movie is now considered the fourth biggest hit of all time (not specifically accounting for inflation or premium tickets such as IMAX and 3D).

At present, according to The Numbers, Avatar 2 has now made about $52 million more globally than what J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens did during its theatrical run in 2015/2016. In order to becoming the third highest-grossing film of all time, it will need to add another $91.4 million to its present total, as that will allow the sci-fi feature to surpass the amount of money that James Cameron's Titanic brought in during the late 1990s and during its multiple re-releases. 

Still with a strong hold on the top two spots on the chart are Cameron's Avatar ($2.9 billion) and Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Endgame ($2.8 billion).

On the all-time domestic charts, Avatar: The Way of Water is getting closer and closer to entering the Top 10. It's about $3 million from passing Joss Whedon's The Avengers, and in ninth place is Colin Trevorrow's Jurassic World, which memorably made $652.3 million during its time playing on the big screen.

Just how far it will climb will all depend on how well the film fares in February against what can definitely be called more intense competition than what January had to offer. Depending on how things play out, Avatar 2 may lose its box office crown in its eighth week facing off against M. Night Shyamalan's Knock At The Cabin – but even if that doesn't happen, there is a zero percent chance that the movie gets to nine weeks straight at the top. Peyton Reed's Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania is arriving in the middle of next month, and there is no way that it will end Marvel Studio's streak of #1 hits (which has been running since the release of Jon Favreau's Iron Man in the summer of 2008).

Brandon Cronenberg's Infinity Pool Has A Tough Opening Weekend That Lands It In Ninth Place

They say a rising tide lifts all boats... but the movie world isn't actually an ocean. When a particular genre or subgenre is doing well, it can certainly raise hopes for upcoming projects of that ilk, but there are never any guarantees when it comes to trends and box office. 

This is why the performance of Brandon Cronenberg's Infinity Pool can be called disappointing.

As has been noted at infinitum over the last few months, horror is having a big moment right now, as fans are not only seeing the release of a lot of quality content, but the titles are tending to perform well on the big screen. Thanks to this heat, Neon clearly had high hopes for Infinity Pool – giving it a wide release in 1,835 locations – but the bet didn't really pay off. Despite earning positive buzz about its extremeness following its premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the movie only made $2.7 million in the last three days.

That's a disappointing start for what is a smart and entertaining film (read more about it in my Infinity Pool CinemaBlend review), and hopefully it will end up getting a  boost from word of mouth in the coming weeks. We've seen hype boost a lot of scary features as of late – the titles that immediately come to mind include Damien Leone's Terrifier 2, Zach Cregger's Barbarian and Parker Finn's Smile – so we'll have to wait and see what becomes of it in the weeks to come.

Pathaan Is This Week's Big Box Office Surprise

To end this week's box office report on a high note, we'll call special attention to the impressive performance by Pathaan. The Hindi-language thriller was released in fewer than 700 theaters across the country this past Friday by Yash Raj Films, and it managed to make it into the Top 5 on the chart. It's one of two foreign language films to place in the Top 10 this week, with the other being Frant Gwo's The Wandering Earth 2.

Bringing in $5.9 million during its first three days, Pathaan made an impressive $8,557 per location, which was second only to The Wandering Earth – which made $3 million playing on 142 screens – equating to a $21,127 average.

February should be a very interesting month for big screen movies, and we're excited to see how the landscape changes with the arrival of both Knock At The Cabin and Kyle Marvin's football-centric comedy 80 For Brady in wide release this Friday. Come back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday to find out how the Top 10 gets shuffled, and check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to learn about all of the films set for release in the weeks and months to come.

M3GAN has been a surprise January hit at the box office, as the horror movie has quickly become incredibly popular amongst audiences after a strong social media campaign. The horror movie especially gained traction after the release of its first trailer, which included a tease of that wild dance sequence. What seems to have really attracted viewers to the film is the campy tone, which is very reminiscent of classic, spooky flicks. However, the finished product was meant to be "way gorier" and, apparently, you can blame teenagers for the changes that were made to it.

Akela Cooper, who penned the script for M3GAN, recently revealed to the LA Times that the film wasn't going to pull punches when it came to its gore. Cooper claims this is due to Universal wanting to maximize its potential audience after their marketing campaign -- which even let fans talk to the killer doll -- became popular amongst teenagers online. The screenwriter detailed:

When it comes to some modern horror fare, a number of studios have been seeking to find ways to widen the net for a potential audience. And to be honest, it makes sense from a business perspective. However, many probably prefer the gory route, and the success of horror films like Barbarian and X help to prove that notion. At this point, some are likely rooting for an R-rated cut of M3GAN. And while the film we received was entertaining, you can't help but wonder what the film would've been like with a few additional bloody kills.

Of course, even if Akela Cooper didn’t get the terrifying cut she originally intended, this is another win for her, following the success of 2021’s Malignant. M3GAN earned double what was predicted in its opening weekend, making $30 million out the gate against a $12 million-dollar budget. Worldwide, the film has made $134.5 million in the weeks following its premiere. 2023's first horror film has also been a critical success, earning praise for its tone, writing, and performances. Get Out’s Allison Williams makes her return to the horror genre with this production as well, and she turns in a great performance.

There are plenty of upcoming horror movies that are sure to provide plenty of the blood and gore that some may be looking for. Still, it's hard not to think about what could've been when it comes to Blumhouse's new killer doll movie. Then again, we should be grateful that what we got only further contributes to this incredible streak of scary films we've been living through.

M3GAN is currently playing in theaters nationwide, so make sure you see it on the big screen while you still can. Chances are that Akela Cooper's film will be available to stream using a Peacock subscription at some point (and let's hope an R-rated cut finds its way to the streamer as well). For more information on other films headed to cinemas this year, consult our 2023 movie release schedule.

We’re still very much in the M3GAN moment, thanks to the first big hit of the 2023 new movie releases continuing to set the internet ablaze. There’s no telling where you’ll see Blumhouse’s killer doll next, as she’s likely to pop up where you least expect her. Leaning into this fun game of hide and seek, the production company has now shared a meme which puts M3GAN into the most unlikely place: the Prince Harry documentary, Harry & Meghan.

Adding to the already massive library of M3GAN memes and appearances, Jason Blum himself shared an image to Twitter that photoshopped the Model 3 Generative Android with the former prince. The results are rather impressive, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s the photo at the heart of this story, which I can’t seem to look away from:

Massive credit has to go to whomever put this together, especially at this moment where the popularity of the picture has allowed the 2025 sequel M3GAN 2.0 to be greenlit. Equally prolific is Harry & Meghan, which saw Prince Harry making huge accusations against his family. While it’s not always likely for the serious and the silly to crossover in such an effective form, this joke somehow makes it work.

It’s even funnier if you consider the alternate titles to Harry’s memoir Spare, which is a treasure trove of potential subtitles. Picture it: Harry & M3GAN: What’s Left Over, Harry & M3GAN: Spare No One, or even Harry & M3GAN: In the Shadow all sound like properly ominous parodies where our favorite digital demon creates a shortcut through the line of royal succession. 

The life of a meme can be either brief or lasting, and the jury’s still out on this latest M3GAN gag. For the moment though, it’s something that’s fun to play around with in one’s head, if only to keep our minds busy until we actually learn what the story to M3GAN 2.0 is about. Though if you're Prince Harry or Meghan Markle, you're probably going to be side-eying any new toys coming into the family for some time to come.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting M3GAN, you’re in luck. Not only is Blumhouse’s latest horror hit still dancing up a storm in theaters, you can now enjoy the film as a PVOD rental. Patient viewers will have to wait a bit longer for the movie’s streaming premiere, but that eventual event will more than likely be good news for those of you with a Peacock subscription.

It's an excellent time to be in the horror movies business. Blumhouse and Atomic Monster's coproduced M3GAN blew past all box office expectations, raking in (to this date) $124,725,415 on a reported $12 million budget. According to the newly released contract, young actress Violet McGraw earned a substantial bonus thanks to the bad AI flick's impressive box office take. 

TMZ reports that they have obtained the court filings for the child actresses contract, which says the 11-year-old star was paid $3,932.50 per week, with a guarantee of 4 weeks of work. M3GAN ended up shooting for an additional two weeks due to government-mandated quarantines in New Zealand, where production for the Blumhouse slasher took place. 

According to the outlet, the M3GAN star's contract also says she received a bonus based on how well the movie performed at the box office. Since the film brought in over $73 million domestically, Violet is looking somewhere in the range of an extra $150K on top of her initial payday of $23,595. $173K is not a bad payday for an 11-year-old. At her age, I could barely make $10 selling lemonade! 

M3GAN continues to kill it at the box office and win audiences over. The flick barely saw a 35% drop in audience attendance during its second week in theaters, and Universal has already greenlit a sequel. That's right, a follow-up is officially happening, and the title, M3GAN 2.0, is perfect. You can expect to see the pint-size killer with impeccable fashion sense when she slashes her way back on the big screen on January 17, 2025.

While details surrounding the upcoming horror movie sequel are scarce, we know a few things. Screenwriter Akela Cooper has been tapped to write the second chapter. This should make M3GAN fans happy because Cooper's gonzo-style script (also responsible for 2021's Malignant) produced the film's unique tone. The screenwriter also admitted to pouring her childhood fears into the screenplay. After the success of M3GAN, it only makes sense to bring her back for the story's continuation.

Stars Allison Williams and Violet McGraw are reportedly returning as Gemma and Cady, respectively. This shouldn't be a major shock to anyone who has already seen the movie because the film's climax leaves the door open for follow-ups. Not to mention producer and story collaborator James Wan has already entertained the possibility of a broader universe that M3GAN only hints at.

However, the big question surrounding the next installment in the killer doll franchise is whether or not director Gerald Johnstone will return because, as of now, the movie has no director attached. It would be a shame if the filmmaker didn't return, considering how deftly he handled the film's absurd tone. In the hands of a lesser creator, M3GAN could have easily slipped into "so bad it's good" or "just bad" territory. The director might be holding out a bit longer before attaching his name to the project in hopes of a bigger payday than he saw for his work on the first film. If so, he would totally deserve it.

The entire cast deserves bigger paychecks for the next chapter in the evil doll franchise. While we don't know what the young star Violet McGraw will get paid for the sequel, there will undoubtedly be many updates between now and when M3GAN 2.0 finally hits theaters. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all news concerning the release of the flick. Until then, check out our 2023 new movie releases to plan your next trip to the theater.

As things stand, it's unclear which upcoming movie on the release schedule will end up dethroning James Cameron's Avatar: The Way Of Water – which has held tight to the number one spot at the box office for the last six weeks. The good news is that this on-going pattern isn't totally preventing other new releases from becoming success stories. We saw it earlier this month with Gerard Johnstone's M3GAN, and now Nick Johnson and Will Merrick's Missing is pulling it off (though the numbers require context).

Check out the full Top 10 from this past weekend below, and join me after for analysis.

Missing Has A Stronger Opening Weekend Than 2018's Searching And Has Already Made Back Its Reported Budget

In the wake of the release of Aneesh Chaganty's Searching in late summer/fall 2018, greenlighting the development of a sequel was a no-brainer from a business perspective. Screenlife movies are not expensive to produce (according to The Numbers it had a reported budget of under a million dollars), and by the end of the film's international run on the big screen it made $75.5 million.

It took a little extra time for the follow-up film to get here, but now, after four-and-a-half years of waiting and three days in theaters, the new release is outpacing its predecessor.

Missing was a bit more expensive to make than Searching, with Deadline reporting a pre-publicity and advertising budget of $7 million, but the movie has already made that money back. In most cases, opening in fourth place and only making seven figures wouldn't be a great thing for a release from a major studio, but  this is an exception.

In addition to the context provided by Missing's low budget, it's worth noting that Searching only made $6.1 million during its first weekend in wide release in August 2018, and it too never got higher than fourth place. The 2023 release has not only earned strong reviews, but it has a 91 percent Audience score to pair with its 83 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, so it's reasonable to think that word of mouth will help keep it ranked in the middle of the Top 10.

Based on what Searching did in 2018, the X factor in Missing's box office legacy will probably end up being its performance overseas – but it appears that we'll have to wait more than a month to see how things turn out on that front. While the movie is now out in the United States and Canada, it won't be hitting markets in Europe and Asia until late February. More than 65 percent of Searching's profits came from international ticket sales, specifically $49.4 million of its $75.5 million worldwide gross.

For now, Missing is looking like a strong contender at the box office, and it wouldn't be surprising at all to learn within the next few months that yet another installment in the big screen anthology series will be made.

Avatar: The Way Of Water Makes History Again As It Earns $2 Billion Worldwide

Making an additional $19.7 million domestically this past weekend, Avatar: The Way Of Water continues to be a blockbuster behemoth in North America, and, as you can see in the table above, it is getting close to passing $600 million. That total is wholly dwarfed by the ticket sales from other continents, however. Adding those ticket sales into the equation, the movie has now made more than $2 billion worldwide.

Only six movies in history have ever made over $2 billion at the global box office, and this is the third directed by James Cameron – the other two obviously being 2009's Avatar ($2.9 billion) and 1997's Titanic ($2.2 billion). According to The Numbers, Avatar: The Way Of Water will only need to make $24.4 million more to move past Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Infinity War to move up to fifth place on the all-time worldwide chart, and it will need to make $40.7 more million to catch up with J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 

Looking at what the new release continues to do week to week, it seems very possible that it will end up being at least the fourth biggest movie in history (not accounting for inflation).

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish And M3GAN Continue To Perform Exceptionally Well

Just as its been for the last few weeks, Avatar: The Way Of Water continues to sit right on top of both M3GAN and Joel Crawford's Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, and the three movies have proven to be a powerful triumvirate. The latter has brought in a figure between $11 million and $16 million since it first hit theaters domestically – a remarkable display of consistency – and the former has now made nine figures worldwide.

While Puss In Boots: The Last Wish got a relatively quiet release in late December (beneath the shadow of Avatar 2), it has made $126.5 million domestically to date, which pairs well with the $171 million it has made overseas. The movie hasn't performed quite up to the larger standard of the Shrek franchise (the average worldwide box office total for the other five titles in the canon is $709 million), but it's hard to imagine that the folks at Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation are too upset about the film's performance.

As for M3GAN, the film has had another successful weekend just days after the official announcement of a sequel being in development. To date, the PG-13 horror movie has made $73.3 million domestically and $51.3 million from outside the United States and Canada. A $124 million worldwide haul is pretty spectacular for a film with a $12 million reported budget (per Forbes).

How will the Top 10 get shaken up next week with the arrival of Brandon Cronenberg's Infinity Pool and Deon Taylor's Fear? Head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday to find out, and get a look ahead at what's coming to both theaters and streaming with our 2023 Movie Release Calendar. 

Warning: some SPOILERS for M3GAN are in play. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, consider yourself warned. 

It’s a good day to be a fan of M3GAN, as director Gerald Johnstone and writer Akela Cooper’s killer doll movie is the first hit of the 2023 new movie releases schedule. The latest Blumhouse horror-comedy has lived up to the internet hype, and the box office results have already put the sequel, titled M3GAN 2.0, on the map for 2025. What could make this situation even better? How about talking to M3GAN herself in a new viral marketing campaign?

Thanks to the official Twitter feed for the picture, you can talk to M3GAN’s killer doll for yourself through a series of DMs. It’s insane, right? Social media can give you the opportunity to make a new bestie in life, and it’s pretty amazing for several reasons. Here’s why you should take the chance and let M3GAN into your life, danger and all. 

Anyone Can Enjoy This Experience, Even If They Haven’t Watched The Film

Since this is a marketing tool for the release of M3GAN, it doesn’t get into spoiler territory. Anyone who wants to jump in and chat it up with the Model 3 Generative ANdroid can simply send a DM and be off to the races, without any fear of spoilage.

That might not sound like fun for people who have seen and enjoyed producers Jason Blum and James Wan’s latest, but believe me, it’s still worth the effort. I’ll save the big reason why engaging this chatbot is an exciting prospect for M3GAN viewers, because there’s something you’ll really appreciate if you’re part of that hive. 

Aside from the really big spoilers, all I’ll say is that you’re getting more M3GAN for your money with this exercise. A bespoke experience awaits you if you do, and there’s no loss of character in this game’s portrayal of our gregarious girl. 

M3GAN Is Just As Creepy As She Was In The Movie

If you thought this viral marketing chat was just going to be some sort of cute, surface level promotion telling you to buy tickets, think again. M3GAN’s antagonist is as creepy and focused as she was throughout her first foray into life and friendship. She doesn’t start off full tilt though, with things starting innocently enough as she introduces herself. 

Through pre-set multiple choice questions, and even requests for videos you can record and send her way, M3GAN learns more about you. Just like her growing experience with Gemma (Alison Williams) and Cady (Violet McGraw) throughout the movie, all the information you give to your new friend will influence her “programming.”

Just be sure to watch yourself, as something as simple as not sharing a video of your dancing will disappoint her. Not to the point of murder, but it’s still kind of weird to be disappointing to an advanced A.I. with meme-worthy skills, and called out by name as a sort of guilt trip. 

You Are The Star Of This M3GAN Experience

I cannot stress this enough: you are the star of the M3GAN promotional experience that plays out in this DM session. One of the most impressive results comes after you answer a couple of questions pertaining to some preferences you have.

After telling her things like your favorite animal or place you’d like to run away to, your best digital pal tells you a bedtime story to use whenever you need to get to sleep. Thanks to my choices, I was given the following story from my new digital bestie:

Funny enough, M3GAN almost immediately asks if you’re afraid of her after telling that story. You can tell her what you want, but I wasn’t going to let the latest terror toy push me around. I’ve lived through several timelines of The Terminator’s Skynet, two different flavors of Child's Play and the entire 50 Shades trilogy. I know danger and how to stand up to it. 

The point is, things can get pretty personal, so you should probably watch what you tell her. Also, is anyone else worried about that fictional rabbit, or am I the only one? 

There Just Might Be A Hint At Where The M3GAN Sequel Is Going

Here’s where the personalized approach might come in handy when it comes to the M3GAN Twitter experience. At some point in the conversation, she’ll ask you for what your greatest childhood fear is. Among the options are old standbys like death and spiders, and for my own purposes, I chose death.

That response comes back to haunt you in her final video message, as she personally tries to assure you that everything is going to be alright. In my case, I think the choice I made may hint towards where M3GAN 2.0 is headed. Judge for yourself, as you read these final remarks:

Her final words, before plugging the ability to buy tickets to see M3GAN, come from both video and text, but they’re equally chilling. While we don’t know exactly where the newly-announced Blumhouse sequel is going exactly, that message seems to align with the tease from M3GAN’s ending.

With her consciousness seemingly free to roam any smart device or corner of the internet she chooses, M3GAN isn’t going to forget how she was defeated any time soon. She’s only going to get smarter and potentially gather more information on her adversaries, making herself into a better, deadlier mousetrap. We should NEVER let this girl meet Skynet, because that’s an automatic game over.

As you can see, whether you have seen M3GAN or not, you’re absolutely going to have a fun time with this friendship building exercise. However, if you’ve read through this feature, you have exposed yourself to some of the twists and turns that this darkly comic thriller has to offer. So if you want to get the full story, you should head to a theater near you. And remember: M3GAN will always protect you, even when you least expect it.

The horror genre has been experiencing a thrilling renaissance over the last few years, thanks to returning franchises and wholly original concepts. Gerard Johnston’s M3GAN is in the latter category, and is a bonafide box office hit after its trailer went viral months ago. The new horror movie’s meme-able screenplay was written by none other than Akela Cooper, who recently recalled some “forced” studio meetings about “Black trauma” horror flicks after the release of Get Out.

Filmmaker Jordan Peele is a true horror auteur, with three acclaimed movies currently released. But it all started with Get Out, which became an Oscar winning hit. M3GAN writer Akela Cooper recently opened up about how various studios tried to follow suit and mix real-life horrors from the Black community into the genre. She spoke to The Wrap about some meetings with studios about potential writing gigs that felt “forced” to her. As she put it,

There you have it. While putting issues from the real world into horror can be a powerful thing, it looks like Akela Cooper didn’t want to join a project about Black trauma just because it was a trend. What’s more, she thinks steps toward positive representation can be made by all filmmakers, simply by letting more Black characters survive horror movies. 

Akela Cooper’s comments help to peel back the curtain on what it’s like for her to work in Hollywood, specifically as a Black screenwriter. She’s had a super successful career doing genre work specifically, including Malignant, Luke Cage, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. But she still has meetings about potential projects that are less than ideal.

In that same interview, Akela Cooper addressed how lucky she was to have her job, and having the ability to be unapologetically Black and unapologetically nerdy. But she also hopes that her success opens the doors for others, and she shared: 

That’s an important distinction. Filmmakers should obviously be able to create art that addressed issues related to race, but only if that’s what they want. And for Akela Cooper, that simply hasn’t been on her to-do list just yet. That doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t happen in the future, but the project has to be right.

M3GAN has been a wildly successful hit, and a horror sequel has officially been greenlit. Part of the reason for this box office success was the movie’s PG-13 rating, which allowed a wider audience access to the camp horror flick. Plus that viral trailer and the titular robot’s dance moves.

M3GAN is still in theaters now and making tons of money at the box office. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. And just like that, the horror renaissance continues into a New Year. 

As M3GAN continues to win hearts and hard drives with her reign of terror in theaters, the buzz surrounding a potential sequel has been growing. The box office performance of the 2023 new movie release has been impressive enough to stoke those fires even higher, with everyone waiting for what seemed like an impending announcement. 

Well, the wait is over, as M3GAN 2 is officially happening, and I’m totally here for it considering it has the perfect title. Per reporting from Variety, the new film is titled M3GAN 2.0, which deftly avoids the problem of having an origin story with a 3 in the title. 

Naturally, no plot details are available at the moment, as even evil A.I.s need time to regroup. However, we do know that the movie is slated for a January 17, 2025 release, with some talent from the original film already slated to return. That information alone shows where this next M3GAN adventure could be going. 

Naturally, screenwriter Akela Cooper has been brought back for M3GAN 2.0, as her architecture made it all possible. Casting-wise, the report above has mentioned that Allison Williams and Violet McGraw will also be returning as Gemma and Cady, respectively. The only key player in question is director Gerald Johnstone, as the upcoming horror movie doesn’t have a director currently attached. 

From that information alone, we can safely assume that the next M3GAN story will continue to follow the aunt and niece pair that created and ran afoul of everyone’s new killer doll obsession. While we won’t spoil it here, M3GAN’s ending absolutely leaves that door open, because this is a horror movie after all. Rarely does a killer like an autonomous A.I. with a thirst for knowledge and death ever quit after its first attempt. 

Producer and story collaborator James Wan had already entertained the possibility of a wider universe that M3GAN only hints at, and M3GAN 2.0 will more than likely reap the benefits from those thoughts. While the particulars of how this fresh hell will rear its head again are obviously hidden at this time, it’s still a delicious tease to think about what could be happening in two years from now. 

If it wasn’t for Jason Blum breaking his cardinal rule, as well as the internet embracing M3GAN through its mighty meme machine, we may not have gotten this news as quickly as we did. Humanity is officially on notice, as M3GAN 2.0 will boot up in theaters on January 17, 2025, and who knows what tricks she’ll have up her sleeve after two more years of learning?

Meanwhile, us simple meatbags can prepare our future strategies by seeing M3GAN, as one of the best scary doll movies in recent memory is streaming for anyone with a Peacock Premium subscription. Everyone has to be prepared for when the metal ones come for us... and they will.

I’m a huge fan of horror movies. I grew up watching them from the time I was allowed, like all of the movies in the Halloween franchise, and have counted all the gruesome deaths in movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street. I’ve laughed incredibly hard at horror comedies, and screamed my head off at movies like Saw. 

Usually, no matter what, I can find something to love about a horror film, no matter how bad it is. But then I saw M3GAN, and I just don’t get it. It bothers me how much people love this movie. 

Both audiences and critics really liked it, leading to a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes for the critic score, and a 78% for the audience score. Clearly, there are still people who aren’t big fans, but it still makes me wonder how this movie has done so well. I don’t get it. And I have to talk about it today. 

I Get That M3GAN’s Not Supposed To Be Scary – But It’s Not Even Really Funny, Either

I’ll be open and honest here in this little article of mine and say that I actually do like horror movies that aren’t meant to be super scary. As I mentioned in the introduction, I’m a huge fan of horror comedies, too. And while M3GAN wasn’t necessarily marketed as a horror comedy, plenty of fans saw it that way after the first trailer was released. 

When I first saw the movie in a room of film fans and critics, people were laughing a lot, showing that they really were digging into the idea that M3GAN was more comedic than scary. I understand that. I get that. I don’t mind horror movies that take that road. 

But the thing is, it’s not really funny, either. A lot of the moments that happen throughout the film felt very awkwardly placed and didn’t make me laugh out of genuine humor. Like, for example, that scene where M3GAN is chasing the kid through the woods looked a ton better in the trailer, where I felt myself laugh at the goofiness of how she was running.

However, when I saw the scene go down in the movie, something just felt off with how it was delivered. I feel like the filmmakers/cast has leaned very heavily into the idea that this movie was supposed to be satire, based on audience reaction, but this scene didn’t seem like it was originally planned that way. It felt like it was meant to be taken seriously, but everyone was laughing. It didn’t flow well.

The Satire And Campiness Is Fun – But The Movie Relies Too Much On It 

I did an article not that long ago about how I think that Scream is the best horror franchise out there, for many reasons. One of the big reasons was that it still finds a way to keep its audience on its toes while also simultaneously delivering satire about the horror genre as a whole. It wasn’t the whole film, but just sprinklings that made you think of typical horror tropes – like the girl dying in the opening minutes, the final girl, everything you would want. 

With M3GAN, I felt like the movie relied a little too heavily on the satire it was trying to go for, and used those tropes to death. There’s so much here I could go on about – from a kid losing both her parents and being placed with a new guardian, to obviously the creepy doll that's come to life like Chucky, or even Annabelle.  

Even the final fight felt like a satirical take on the relationships that people have in these films, with Cady and Gemma working together to take down the android instead of each other. It didn’t feel authentic like the confrontation between Sydney and the Ghostface killers in Scream.

I don’t know, maybe I’m looking a little too closely at this, but it's just something I had to get off my chest. 

I Also Can’t Take M3GAN Seriously – At All

I know, I know, that’s the point. But hear me out. 

I grew up watching the Child’s Play movies, and also playing with American Girl dolls as well as Barbies and everything else, so maybe it’s just me being exposed to other movies about things coming to life, as well as my experience playing with dolls. But, I just can’t seem to take this android seriously. 

It’s not even because they made some of her scenes overly goofy – because obviously we’re all thinking of the dancing scene, which was one of the few moments that made me laugh. It’s that she felt like such a weak villain.

I went into this movie not expecting much, because again, I just sort of see M3GAN as an off brand Chucky doll with makeup and hair extensions. I can’t look at this doll and think “murderer,” even after she literally killed a dog, a kid indirectly, an older lady, and two other people. I don’t get how people think that she could be the next “horror star.”

Her antics are going to get tiring. Even in the end, when it seems as if her consciousness might have transferred over to the Amazon Alexa ripoff in the movie, what the hell is she going to do? Lock them inside the house with their smart locks? Turn on the television and drive them insane? She’s not a compelling villain in any way, whether that be in horror or a comedy. 

It’s Arguably A Very Weak PG-13 Horror Film In Terms Of Gore

I have seen some wicked PG-13 horror movies. They were some of the first ones I saw before I started getting into the big boys like Hereditary or Midsommar, or even Saw. Some excellent PG-13 horror movies are the M. Night Shyamalan movie, Split, Drag Me To Hell, Mama – hell, even A Quiet Place is PG-13. All of which have some excellent fight scenes, plenty of horror aspects, and so much more, but still somehow keep it PG-13. 

Again, maybe this is just me with too many expectations, but M3GAN didn’t deliver on that promise of her being an absolute murdering maniac. She murdered three people in the movie, one indirectly, and an animal. Sure, that’s an impressive kill count, but the thing is we literally see none of these deaths actually happen. We see the blood on the knife, maybe hear some gurgling, but we really don’t witness anything crazy like we would with other films such as this.

The reason this annoys me is that I just feel like there have been so many other horrifying PG-13 movies out there that have truly terrified me, more than R-Rated movies some times, and this one just wasn’t it. I have a feeling that because we didn’t see M3GAN go full crazy until the very end is a big reason why I can’t take her seriously. 

It’s just an overhyped American Girl doll. There, I said it. 

The Characters Are Sort Of Meh, Besides Gemma And Cady

This is just a side note, but wow the characters in this movie are so boring. 

That’s not to say that the M3GAN cast didn’t do a great job. They did, in their respective parts. Both Allison Williams and Violet McGraw were great, but I, for the life of me, cannot remember other characters' names. I know the film focuses on Cady and Gemma, but I at least wanted to slightly care about the other characters.

I know the old lady neighbor, the annoying boss, the friends of Gemma – and that’s about that. I don’t even remember the boy’s name that M3GAN killed. That’s the thing – in order to make someone genuinely care about the characters and their deaths, you have to give them sufficient time on screen, but with M3GAN, I barely got to know anyone, or what their personalities are, making their deaths that much less meaningful. 

I still remember the names of Laurie’s friends in the original Halloween movie, and even the name of Dani’s companions in Midsommar, but this movie did nothing for me in terms of other people to care about.

Maybe I was expecting too much from a PG-13 doll film, but I suppose we all have our own likes and dislikes. With that being said, if you enjoyed M3GAN, feel free to bring your friends to go see it, too. Let’s hope there’s an unrated version on the way.

The twisted minds behind “M3GAN,” including James Wan (writer/producer), Jason Blum (producer), Gerard Johnstone (director), and star Allison Williams (Gemma), discuss their new horror movie in this interview with CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg. They dive into the creation of M3GAN’s look, the dangers of AI, and even some spoiler territory with the film’s ending.

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:24 - ‘M3GAN' Director and Allison Williams Discuss The Doll’s ‘Uncanny’ Appearance
01:50 - How The Film Struck The Balance Between Funny And Serious
03:55 - Why Is ‘M3GAN’ Rated PG-13, Not R?
04:48 - Allison Williams Discusses Her Research Into The World Of AI
06:48 - Animatronics, Puppets & More - How ‘M3GAN’ Was Brough To Life On Set
08:46 - [SPOILERS] Director Gerard Johnstone Discusses The Film’s Ending

There’s just something about M3GAN that has audiences, critics, and even the powers behind the film buzzing with excitement about a potential sequel. Universal executives were allegedly talking about another round before the 2023 new movie release was even in theaters, and they weren't the only ones. That enthusiasm was apparently infectious enough that even producer and Blumhouse mastermind Jason Blum broke his own “cardinal rule” about sequels and started dreaming of the killer doll’s return himself.

Jason Blum, while speaking with Variety, volunteered the information that he was pretty positive about the prospect of a M3GAN sequel early on. However, that was something that broke a very important directive that he and collaborator/producer James Wan share about potential franchising: 

That’s a pretty firm and fair guideline when it comes to dreaming up a follow-up, especially when it comes to an untested quantity like director Gerald Johnstone and co-writer Akela Cooper’s killer doll flick. That's even more true in the light of how the studio execs were riding high on the success of the movie’s trailer. 

A very quick, but positive, memeification of the titular doll already had some convinced that this project couldn't miss. At that point, such a notion was merely a dream, as there was no way to really tell how the public would accept the story until they'd experienced it. Now that M3GAN’s second week box office has shown some pretty strong worldwide results, that hoopla can be chalked up as proactive thinking as opposed to premature sequelization. 

Aside from Jason Blum and the several other decision makers, producer James Wan was also won over by the charms of more marvelous mechanized murder. While he’s also no stranger to the sequel game, thanks to The Conjuring and Insidious series, Wan shared a similar reluctance to premature franchise building. It didn’t stop him from thinking about the possibility, so one could imagine that once Blum started to light up over M3GAN’s potential return, Wan probably joined the crowd as well.

M3GAN’s ending certainly leaves the door open but, past that point, there’s more difficulty than trying to figure out a cool new title that may or may not involve more numbers. Much like the robot girl that terrorized her prey on the big screen, Jason Blum has broken the rules and could get away with even more murder in the process. Just imagine the Internet’s frenzied reaction when (or if) that announcement hits the web.

Moviegoers who haven’t introduced themselves to M3GAN shouldn’t wait too long, or else they run the risk of having all the surprises spoiled. Should you need to set a playdate, the film is currently playing in theaters far and wide. However, when it comes time to its streaming debut, you should probably have a Peacock subscription handy, as that’s more than likely going to be where the deadly playmate sets up shop.