M3GAN 2.0has undoubtedly been a flop,making only $17 million globallyin its first week compared to the firstM3GAN,which made over$30 million in its opening weekand went on to accumulate over $180 million worldwide. For fans of the franchise, it is a huge disappointment as the unexpected success of the first movie hasn’t been replicated as a result of small changes totally unrelated to the actual content of the movie.
M3GAN’s staying power has clearly been overestimated due to the viral wave of content that helped propel the first movie to success. Consequently, the decision tomove the release from the beginning of the year to the start of the summer windowmeantM3GAN 2.0was immediately in hot water. The new release period meantM3GAN 2.0had to face a huge increase in competition, with Blumhouse overestimating the popularity of such a new franchise compared to movies based on longer-existing IP, such asJurassic World Rebirth,F1: The Movie,28 Years Later,andHow to Train Your Dragon. The issue presents a huge feeling of misjudgment that the newly crowned horror icon has beencheated out of the success she deserves.
‘M3GAN’s Box Office Success Defied the Odds
The release ofM3GANdefied all box office expectations,becoming hugely successful despite its January “dump month” distribution date.The beginning of the year is a notoriously dry period for new releases,with studios often choosing to put out movies they have less confidence in due to the post-holiday season slumpand winter period seeing a decline in spending and people venturing to the cinema.M3GANwas given the most pessimistic release date of January 6th, arguably the worst day in the calendar for a film’s success.
Despite the traditional unresponsive nature of January,M3GANmassively overperformed,a result of an incredibly impressive marketing campaign and word-of-mouth. Blumhouse focused on M3GAN as a character, honing in on her theatrical yet sarcastic nature and playing with Gen-Z humor. The movie re-imagined the killer doll subgenre and, rightfrom the first trailers, proved it wasn’t like other horror movies.A combination of playing on TikTok dance trends and sending out replicaM3GANdolls meant the movie was a huge success with younger audiences, helping the movie to defy box office expectations.
‘M3GAN 2.0’ Was Destined to Flop Before Its Opening Weekend
M3GAN 2.0appeared to be following the same marketing tactics,leaning into the cultural icon the titular android has become. However, one catastrophic change ultimately ensured the original success wouldn’t be replicated: changing the release window. Rather than repeating the strategy of capitalizing on the dead zone of the new year, the choice was to makeM3GAN 2.0a summer release. Thefresh adaptation was hung out to dry,having to compete with the likes ofF1: The MovieandJurassic Park Rebirth.
‘M3GAN 2.0’ Audiences Disagree With Critics on Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore
Blumhouse’s killer doll continues to be a fan-favorite.
The truth is, audiences with the luxury of choice simply won’t flock to see an unestablished franchise over something they are more familiar with. With ticket prices rising and time constraints,the casual moviegoer cannot see everythingand has to prioritize their top choice. Without such heavy hitters as competition,M3GAN 2.0could’ve easily attracted a similar opening weekend audience as the first. Even if the studio didn’t want to release the sequel in January,a late September or October release, where horror is much more popular, would have been more logical.Even thoughM3GAN 2.0leans much more into action and comedy over horror, M3GAN has taken her place in the horror pantheon, making the movies always feel horror adjacent.
‘M3GAN 2.0’ Deserves the Cinema Experience
It is painful to watchM3GAN 2.0suffer so much from poor release planning, not only because it lessens the chance of a third movie but becausethe sequel truly elevated its source materialand created a fun cinema experience. All the self-aware, blunt humor of the first movie is there,but the bigger budget allowed the filmmakers to supersize the action, leading to huge set pieces and constant engagement. The movie alsobegins to explore the expansion of technologyin a version of reality where scientific and technical knowledgehas led to inventions such as M3GAN. There is an examination of neurological advancements and complex security systems that add so much depth to the world and create a thematically dense universe to explore. It feels like the sequel only wedged the door of possibility open, and this movie world has so much more to give.
M3GAN 2.0is an extremely fun and interactive two hours that deserves the big-screen experience. Had it been given a less competitive release date, more people could’ve seen it and consequently told their friends to do the same.Jason Blumhas acknowledged the flop statusof the sequel, claiming that they thought M3GAN was a more popular figure and that they “classically overthought how powerful people’s engagement was." In reality, regardless of the first movie’s success,M3GAN 2.0is a prime example that a franchise takes time to build and establish itself.It takes more than pop culture relevance to create a hit, especially a summer blockbuster.
