M3GAN 2.0 Flops at the Box Office Despite Major Influencer Backing

The sequel to Blumhouse’s breakout AI horror hit M3GAN couldn’t recapture the original magic, opening 66% lower than its predecessor despite massive awareness and a viral campaign

After dancing her way into viral TikTok stardom and shocking the 2023 winter box office with a $180 million global haul on a modest $12 million budget, M3GAN seemed like a surefire franchise starter. Blumhouse and Atomic Monster had no choice but to bring the killer AI doll back for a sequel — and thus, M3GAN 2.0 was born.

With her social sass, campy personality, and even a social media beef with Chucky, the rebooted doll returned with renewed energy aimed squarely at a young female audience (53% women, 44% under 25). Releasing during a quiet post-holiday window, just like the first, M3GAN 2.0 was positioned to dominate again. Instead, she fizzled.

M3GAN 2.0 debuted with just $10.2 million domestically and $17 million globally, a shocking 66% drop from the original’s $30.4 million opening in the U.S./Canada. Despite strong early tracking and higher awareness than Apple Original Films’ competing release F1, M3GAN’s momentum didn’t convert. Tracking had wrongly projected the potential for a $30M+ debut alongside the Brad Pitt-led F1, which instead outpaced expectations with a $57M launch.

Even with slightly better audience exit polls (B+ vs. the original’s B), the film never recovered from its slow start. Critical response also played a role, as the first movie’s 93% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes plummeted to 57% for M3GAN 2.0. As New York Magazine critic Bilge Ebiri summarized, “The results are thoroughly middling — not funny enough to qualify as comedy, not exciting enough to qualify as action, not smart enough to qualify as a cautionary tale, and certainly not weird enough to keep the M3GAN ethos alive.”

The Challenges of a Horror Sequel — Especially a Gimmicky One

Sequels to high-concept horror films are tricky. The challenge lies in striking the right balance between staying true to the original and offering something fresh. In the case of M3GAN 2.0, it seems the film leaned too far into self-aware humor and away from the unsettling edge that made the original resonate.

Paramount’s Smile 2, for example, opened with $23 million — on par with its first installment. The difference? A fresh angle centered around a neurotic pop star, and a campaign focused squarely on scares and the franchise’s iconic grin imagery.

By contrast, M3GAN 2.0 took a bold tonal shift into camp, complete with a trailer backed by Boyz II Men’s “It’s Hard to Say Goodbye” and Britney Spears’ “Oops!… I Did It Again”, showcasing a showdown between M3GAN and new AI adversary Amelia. The film even repurposed the plot structure of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, casting M3GAN as the reluctant heroine. In one tongue-in-cheek trailer moment, Gemma (Allison Williams) scolds the doll: “You threatened to rip out my tongue and put me in a wheelchair.” M3GAN shrugs it off: “I was upset!”

Marketing Blitz Was Loud, But Couldn’t Overcome Film’s Weaknesses

Despite the underwhelming film, Universal’s marketing machine went into overdrive. They targeted LGBTQ+ audiences with street ads in L.A. that read “Miss me, Queens?”, aired trailers during high-profile events like the Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl, and made a splashy debut at CinemaCon with a dance squad of 30 M3GANs. Promotions ran across the NBA Finals, American Music Awards, and even reality show finales like The Voice and American Ninja Warrior.

The studio also integrated influencers and digital platforms, casting nine TikTok stars in the movie and cross-promoting through gaming platforms like Roblox, where fans could build their own M3GANs. Viral moments included her “Hot M3G Summer” promo on Las Culturistas and a cameo in Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” video.

M3GAN also made appearances at WNBA games, on RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars, and hit a massive 263 million social reach across platforms — a 27% edge over other horror properties, per RelishMix. But even with viral buzz, bad movies still lose.

Audience Feedback: M3GAN’s Charm Had Worn Thin

Online chatter wasn’t kind. Comments ranged from critiques of her new look (“That face looks CG… the old mask was better”) to skepticism about the plot (“You already know how it’s gonna play out”). Many fans felt that changing genres from horror to horror-comedy was a misfire. Even those defending the film’s camp couldn’t deny that the stakes felt lower.

Some speculated the film’s release date was to blame, sandwiched between hits like 28 Years Later ($50.3M second weekend) and Final Destination: Bloodlines ($136.6M by week 7). But others pointed out that a solid horror film marketed to women should have thrived, especially given that 53% of the audience was female. The problem wasn’t timing — it was content.

History Repeats: M3GAN 2.0 Joins the Horror Sequel Graveyard

M3GAN 2.0 isn’t the first horror sequel to flop after a breakout debut. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 died with just $47.7M worldwide after the first film earned nearly $250M. Amityville II made just 14% of the original’s gross. Even The Exorcist: The Heretic pulled in just 16% of its predecessor’s U.S. total.

Blumhouse is in a rough patch, too. Their recent titles like The Woman in The Yard ($22.4M), Wolf Man ($20.7M), and Drop ($16.6M) all underperformed. Thankfully, their low-budget model keeps losses minimal — M3GAN 2.0 cost $25 million before marketing. But this is far from the profitable $79M net gain from the first M3GAN.

Producers at Blumhouse and Atomic Monster — the same minds behind Saw, Paranormal Activity, and The Purge — are now looking ahead to Black Phone 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Mortal Kombat 2, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. Hopefully, they’ll take time to recalibrate.

As for the franchise’s future, there’s another AI horror entry titled Soulm8te on the way in January 2026. Universal would be wise to separate its marketing far from the wreckage of M3GAN 2.0.