It seemed like studio horror was back on track, with Sinners and Final Destination Bloodlines delivering impressive box office results recently. But things seem to have slumped once again this weekend, with the hotly anticipated M3GAN 2.0 underperforming quite drastically at the box office. The horror comedy sequel comes three years after the original M3GAN made over $180 million worldwide on the back of terrific reviews. The movie was produced by horror specialists Jason Blum and James Wan, both of whom returned to produce M3GAN 2.0, as did director Gerard Johnstone.
The movie made just around $10 million domestically and another $7 million from overseas markets, for a cumulative global debut of $17 million. M3GAN 2.0 barely managed to secure a spot in the top five of the domestic box office charts, and out-performed quite significantly by fellow new release, the Brad Pitt-led sports drama F1. Produced on a reported budget of around $250 million, F1 made almost $150 million in its first three days of release globally. M3GAN 2.0, on the other hand, was produced on a reported budget of around $20 million.
The movie couldn’t replicate the performance of the first film on aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where it holds a “rotten” 58% score. M3GAN 2.0’s audience score on the platform is far higher, at 84%. Perhaps there’s some hope for it still. By comparison, the original M3GAN earned a 93% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and became one of tRotten Tomatoeshe breakout hits of 2022 thanks to a catchy marketing campaign. W.B. tried to replicate that success on M3GAN 2.0, but in vain.
‘M3GAN 2.0’ Was Embraced by the Folks that Saw It
The movie brings back star Allison Williams, who once again finds that fiddling with artificial intelligence has its drawbacks. While the movie was mostly ignored by mainstream audiences this weekend, those who watched it on opening day seemed to like it. It earned a respectable B+ CinemaScore from opening day crowds, with Collider’s Emma Kiely describing it in her review as “equal parts charming, ridiculous, and compelling.” You can watch M3GAN 2.0 in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
