Following the success of M3GAN in 2022 and Five Nights at Freddy’s in 2023, Blumhouse got the green light to get sequels to both potential franchise-starters off the ground. And while Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 retained what made the first film such a hit with its target audience, M3GAN 2.0 pulled a Joker: Folie à Deux and abandoned what audiences appreciated about the first film. Joker 2 turned out to be a meta-musical response to the first Joker, and M3GAN 2.0 wasn’t a horror movie at all; it switched genres to sci-fi, which might have alienated audiences. The movie earned mixed reviews and tanked at the box office, but despite theatrical setbacks, it’s emerging as quite a popular choice for audiences at home.
According to FlixPatrol, it was among the most-watched movies on the global HBO Max charts this week, when the leader board was topped by Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Released earlier in 2025, during a particularly tough run for Blumhouse, the movie made under $40 million at the worldwide box office, against a reported budget of $25 million. By comparison, the first M3GAN grossed over $180 million globally, against a far smaller $12 million reported budget. It was also critically acclaimed, and is now sitting at a “certified fresh” 93% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. M3GAN 2.0, on the other hand, is sitting at a 57% score on RT, where the critics’ consensus reads, “M3gan 2.0 swaps the original’s horror software for a more action-leaning programming that doesn’t prove to be an upgrade, although the quippy A.I. remains an amusing mascot of slay.”
Jason Blum Admitted They Dropped the Ball on the Movie
Days after the film’s underwhelming opening, Blumhouse boss Jason Blum appeared on Matt Belloni’s The Town podcast, and admitted that they might have overestimated the brand’s cultural worth, and incorrectly assumed that they could plant the M3GAN character in any scenario and audiences would show up. He also admitted that changing the main genre of the sequel was a mistake, and that director Gerard Johnstone probably shouldn’t have been rushed into making it. Following M3GAN 2.0’s underperformance, a planned spin-off titled SOULM8TE was removed from Universal’s release calendar mere weeks before it was supposed to open. The film, which is presumably complete, is now reportedly being shopped around town to other buyers.
You can watch M3GAN 2.0 at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
June 27, 2025
Runtime
120 minutes
Director
Gerard Johnstone
Writers
Gerard Johnstone