M3GAN 2.0's Very Bad Box Office Opening Raises Serious Concerns For The Future Of Blumhouse
It was not a very good weekend for Universal Pictures and, more specifically, Blumhouse Productions. The house that Jason Blum built released the once-much-anticipated sequel "M3GAN 2.0" over the weekend and, even though the original was an unexpected breakout hit in 2023, its follow-up came in well below expectations. So much so that we must now question what future (if any) awaits this once-promising franchise and, more broadly, what is going on at Blumhouse.
Director Gerard Johnstone's "M3GAN 2.0" opened to just $10.2 million domestically. It certainly didn't help that Brad Pitt's "F1" opened to nearly $60 million and served up a major crowd-pleaser. International audiences weren't all that much help either, with the killer robot sequel pulling in $6.8 million overseas for a $17 million global start. When we consider that the first "M3GAN" opened to $30 million in North America alone, that number looks awfully rough.
The sequel picks up two years after M3GAN went on her murderous rampage. Her creator, Gemma (Allison Williams), is now an advocate for government oversight of AI, while her teenage niece Cady (Violet McGraw) rebels against Gemma's overprotective rules. When the underlying tech used to create M3GAN is stolen by a defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia, Gemma is forced to find a way to stop it.
Ahead of the weekend, "M3GAN 2" had been tracking to earn at least $20 million. Some earlier projections had it taking in closer to $30 million. Falling that far short of expectations is nothing shy of a disaster, particularly when we consider that the first movie was a $180 million smash, original hit.
M3GAN 2.0 is a likely franchise killer - but it's bigger than that
At this rate, the sequel will be lucky to make $60 million globally, or roughly one-third of the original's take. That still might not be a huge issue given that it carries a reported $25 million production budget, which is still small by Hollywood standards. All the same, Blumhouse used to be the best in the business at turning cheap, original hits into long-running franchises. Case in point, the first one cost just $12 million and we got a sequel as well as the upcoming spin-off "SOULM8TE," which has already been filmed and is due to hit theaters next year.
At this rate, the franchise now looks to be dead in its tracks. "M3GAN 2.0" was met with so-so reviews, with audiences largely greeting it with a shrug. So it's not as though critical opinion is going to help get a third movie made. The lackluster response to this movie also isn't going to do "SOULM8TE" any favors. It's not a great situation.
Beyond one movie though, Blumhouse has had a truly tough time in recent years. Even after merging with James Wan's Atomic Monster last year, the biggest name in modern horror hasn't been able to generate new franchises. Instead, they're having to rely on established IP, such as "Halloween," "Five Nights at Freddy's," and the "Speak No Evil" remake, to find a hit. That's not to say those movies aren't valuable, but the fact that they can no longer seem to find the next "Purge" or the next "Insidious" is troubling. Something very clearly needs to change, but there are no easy answers.
Where does Blumhouse go from here?
Blumhouse has generated well over $6 billion at the global box office over the last 16 years. Much of that has come from low-risk/high-reward originals such as "Paranormal Activity" and Jordan Peele's breakout feature directorial debut "Get Out." More often than not, those success stories are parlayed into sequels, often resulting in big franchises. Unfortunately, production budgets have gone up in recent years, audiences are more picky about what they choose to see, and it's harder than ever to get people to leave the house.
As a result, a movie like "Truth or Dare" that could coast to $95 million worldwide against terrible reviews is much harder to come by. Instead, Blumhouse has suffered a string of misfires, including "Firestarter," "Night Swim," "Imaginary," "Afraid," "The Woman in the Yard," and "Drop." Some of those made some money, but others like "Wolf Man" ($35 million worldwide/$25 million budget) were major disappointments. Breakout success is very elusive.
To that end, the last original hit from Blumhouse was "M3GAN" in January 2023. Yes, the studio scored its biggest hit ever with "Five Nights at Freddy's" ($297 million worldwide), and a sequel is on the way later this year, which could be an even bigger hit. But with its original movies like director Jaume Collet-Serra's "The Woman in the Yard," pulling in just $23 million against a $12 million budget, that's of concern.
Even more concerning? When Blumhouse scores a hit now, they're having a tougher time building a franchise. Hence, "M3GAN 2.0" raises lots of questions about the studio's future. Where do they go from here? Does it become increasingly about existing franchises? Is that why they recently secured the "Saw" rights? Is it going to be more about chasing "The Black Phone 2" and less about making "The Black Phone" in the first place? Whatever the answer, it's very clear that something significant needs to change behind the scenes.
"M3GAN 2.0" is in theaters now.