Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN, a horror thriller about a murderous doll, has just had one of the biggest opening weekends in the US.
While the UK is only getting to witness the glory of the titular doll January 13, M3GAN has made quite the impact on audiences in the US. The film follows Allison Williams’ roboticist who creates M3GAN; Model 3 Generative Android, a perfect companion for her young niece (Violet MacGraw). Unfortunately, M3GAN proves a bit too protective of the girl and… well, we’ll let you discover what happens for yourself. When the first trailer for M3GAN was released in October, the film already seemed to be tapping into some kind of zeitgeist. Maybe it was the doll’s creepy dance moves or our general anxieties about AI, M3GAN was already a hit. The film has been well received critically and the film smashed all expectations by grossing $30m on its opening weekend. Overall, the film has made $45m, but that figure will probably rise considerably after the film is released in the UK this week. Notably, M3GAN was filmed with a $12m budget, which it has more than recuperated already. “Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster delivered an incredible film. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s thrilling,” Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution said of the success, while describing the word-of-mouth element of the film “through the roof.” This bodes well for horror fans. 2022 was a great year for original horror; The Black Phone, Barbarian and Terrifier 2 were all huge successes, but franchise films such as Halloween Ends proved to be disappointing.
The news of M3GAN’s success gives us hope that cinema is alive and well. As we’ve previously noted, Hollywood is preparing for a very tough year, but it seems that there is hope yet.
Elsewhere, we reported on 6 January that Avatar: The Way of Water has become the tenth highest-grossing film of all time. Only 3 days later, James Cameron’s sequel has climbed the ranks and is now the 7th highest-grossing film, surpassing Jurassic World with earnings of $1.7bn.
While the UK is only getting to witness the glory of the titular doll January 13, M3GAN has made quite the impact on audiences in the US. The film follows Allison Williams’ roboticist who creates M3GAN; Model 3 Generative Android, a perfect companion for her young niece (Violet MacGraw). Unfortunately, M3GAN proves a bit too protective of the girl and… well, we’ll let you discover what happens for yourself. When the first trailer for M3GAN was released in October, the film already seemed to be tapping into some kind of zeitgeist. Maybe it was the doll’s creepy dance moves or our general anxieties about AI, M3GAN was already a hit. The film has been well received critically and the film smashed all expectations by grossing $30m on its opening weekend. Overall, the film has made $45m, but that figure will probably rise considerably after the film is released in the UK this week. Notably, M3GAN was filmed with a $12m budget, which it has more than recuperated already. “Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster delivered an incredible film. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s thrilling,” Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution said of the success, while describing the word-of-mouth element of the film “through the roof.” This bodes well for horror fans. 2022 was a great year for original horror; The Black Phone, Barbarian and Terrifier 2 were all huge successes, but franchise films such as Halloween Ends proved to be disappointing.
Credit: Universal Pictures
