The next great horror icon is here.
The killer doll movie M3GAN, in which a child's singing and dancing robotic companion goes on a bloody rampage, is off to a surprisingly strong start at the box office. The film grossed $30.2 million domestically in its opening weekend after only being expected to make between $17 million and $20 million, meaning it has already more than doubled its reported $12 million production budget.
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So M3GAN was an example of a film that likely received a box office boost from viral hype, similar to the way Minions: The Rise of Gru may have benefited from a trend of teenagers going to see it dressed in formal attire — though memes didn't save Sony's Morbius. But the key was that unlike Morbius, M3GAN genuinely satisfied critics and audiences. Reviews said the horror-comedy provided the exact kind of campy fun promised by the trailer, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave M3GAN a solid B grade.
A sequel is sure to follow, so this opening likely means a new horror franchise has officially been born — and perhaps one day, Gen Z will get its own Freddy vs. Jason via an eventual Chucky vs. M3GAN.
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