M3GAN: How much box office money did the horror film make over the January 9 weekend?

M3GAN has emerged as a killer at the box office. Directed by Gerard Johnstone, the sci-fi horror film has managed to collect $45 million globally, reaching its breakeven on the opening weekend itself.

According to the collection statistics, North America alone provided a substantial $30,2 million to this spectacular collection, far exceeding estimates, which had projected an income of $17–20 million during the same period.

M3GAN, also known as Model 3 Generative Android, was produced on a shoestring budget of $12 million by Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions.

The Conjuring franchise creator James Wan’s Atomic Monster Productions and Divide/Conquer serve as its co-producers.

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M3GAN outperforms Avatar: The Last Airbender at the box office and in the ratings

M3GAN, released worldwide on Friday, January 6, 2023, pulled up $11.7 million on day one itself, defeating even Avatar: The way of Water as far as first-day collections are concerned. In comparison, the James Cameron-directed spectacle made $11.4 million on its first day of release.

The doll horror movie had a warm reception from 3,509 theaters across North America, helping it to gross over $30 million. Meanwhile, reports indicate that producers made $14.8 million during the inaugural weekend, thanks to sales in international markets.

The Amie Donald-headlined film is now second at the ticket window after Avatar: The way of Water. It has also dethroned DreamWorks' animated film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which had held the top spot for the previous two weekends.

A still from Avatar: The way of Water. (Photo via Twitter/@officialavatar)

It seems strong word-of-mouth and a general liking for horror offerings have worked in favor of the PG-13 film.

Expressing his excitement, Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr, in a statement said:

“Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster delivered an incredible film. It’s fun, it’s scary, it’s thrilling. Word-of-mouth is through the roof.”

M3GAN has triumphed not only at the box office but also in the rating race. It has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, tying with Spider-Man: No Way Home, and has overtaken Avatar: The Way of Water's 77%.

Additionally, the stupendous performances of both M3GAN and Avatar: The way of Water have made those associated with showbiz extremely elated. David A. Gross of movie consultancy firm Franchise Entertainment Research told Variety:

“Between M3GAN’s opening and Avatar 2’s sensational fourth weekend, this is a solid start to the year. Is it too soon to declare 2023 a complete and utter success?”

Separately, Avatar: The way of Water has made $1.708 billion till now, after getting released on December 16, 2022.

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Wan tells why he planned to back M3GAN

Wan has become synonymous with the horror genre after making several such flicks, including Saw I and III, Dead Silence, Insidious and its sequel, The Conjuring series, Malignant, and The Conjuring sequel Annabelle.

So, what prompted him to create another horror film? In an interview with Deadline, the filmmaker stated that in his previous doll films, no one was murdered. He added:

“Annabelle never gets up and walks around. Everyone says I’m the killer doll guy. So I said, I’m going to make a killer doll movie for a brand new generation. Today’s kids didn’t grow up with Chucky like we did.”

Describing the new release as “scary, creepy, touching and emotional at the same time,” he highlighted that they wanted to make something “technology-driven as opposed to the supernatural.”

And for those who loved this brand-new film here’s a piece of good news.

Last week, Johnstone indicated to Collider that a sequel might start rolling if M3GAN strikes gold. Now that it has, we can expect an update soon.