“M3GAN 2.0” Fails to Slay the Box Office!

In disappointing news, the sci-fi action comedy M3GAN 2.0 failed to slay the weekend box office. I hope the movie finds an audience down the line and encourages the studio to bring M3GAN out for another outing soon.

Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno, and Amie Donald, the sequel to the 2022 M3GAN had the human cast deal with the return of the titular doll as they teamed up to stop a deadly robot named AMELIA. While there was some concern about the tone of the film during the marketing phase because it was jumping from horror comedy to action comedy, I thought the narrative putting its unique spin on the iconic Terminator 2 made sense.

I watched the movie over the weekend and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a lot. It does what it needs to do for what it’s supposed to be. I liked how it handled the issue of humanity vs AI as the characters tried to enforce ethical laws around the rapidly developing AI industry. I also liked how the story showed M3GAN and Gemma being similar.

Here’s my review!

So, yeah, M3GAN 2.0 opened to a disappointing approximately $10.2 million at the weekend box office against a reported production budget of around $25 million (at the high end). In contrast, the first movie opened at around $30 million, going on to collect more than $180 million at the global box office against a $12 million production budget. It’s a good thing the studio didn’t inflate the budget for the sequel after the predecessor’s huge success. The second chapter is poised to turn a profit, but yeah, at the end of the day, those aren’t great numbers.

The Critic Score stands at 57% with the Audience Score being 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. I want to see the M3GAN franchise continue. That’s why I’m hopeful the creative team is allowed another go at the IP. I’m also okay with it going back to horror comedy. Throw a creepy male version of M3GAN in there!

As for the other major release, the Brad Pitt-starring F1 opened with approx. $55.6 million against a reported production budget of $200-$300 million from Apple Studios. The global haul is around $144 million. With the Audience Score being 97% and the Critic Score being 84% on RT, F1 is yet another example of a movie that’s well-received and yet fails to report larger numbers.

I think a true test will be the upcoming Jurassic World Rebirth movie because I understand a number of people, including myself, aren’t really into watching a movie like F1.

The horror flick 28 Years Later fell a whopping 68% to post an estimated $9.7 million. As of now, the movie has collected $103 million worldwide against an approximate production budget of $60 million.

I’m not surprised about such a reception because having watched 28 Years Later, I was quite ‘Meh!’ about it. The story felt undercooked, and the creative choice of having naked zombies running around didn’t hit for me. It ended up being more comedic than disturbing.

The live-action How to Train Your Dragon is struggling to make big bucks. Adding an estimated $19.4 million, the movie has increased the global haul to $454 million. It’s good, but not great, considering how live-action versions are supposed to post much higher numbers for the studio. As of writing this post, the live-action version is behind the 3 animated movies in the IP. The first animated HTTYD made $494.9 million globally back in 2010.

The live-action Lilo and Stitch being an impressive example of this. Even though it’s a subpar film (to put it nicely), the approx. $6.9 million has helped it boost the global haul to $946 million. A sequel has been confirmed!

However, Disney/Pixar is losing with the animated Elio. It made around $10.7 million to bring the worldwide total to $72.3 million against an estimated production budget of $150 million. Elio is an okay movie, talking about building connections with those around you and accepting the differences in people.

June 27 – June 29, 2025 Weekend Box Office:

1. F1 – $55.6 million
2. How to Train Your Dragon – $19.4 million
3. Elio – $10.7 million
4. M3GAN 2.0 – $10.2 million
5. 28 Years Later – $9.7 million
6. Lilo and Stitch – $6.9 million
7. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning – $4.1 million
8. Materialists – $2.9 million
9. Ballerina – $2.1 million
10. Karate Kid Legends – $1 million

What did you think of M3GAN 2.0? Did you watch F1?

Let us know.

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(via Box Office Mojo, Beyond the Trailer)

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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