While there are many months still to come, 2025 has proven itself to be incrediblyinconsistent in the horror genre thus far.WhileSinnersimpressed criticsand audiences upon its release in April and continues to succeed on streaming, other movies have struggled to meet expectations.
This has happened to distributors who are usually major voices within the horror genre.A24, for example, has yet to produce a horror or thrillerthis year that was successful both critically and commercially. They had back-to-back flops with bothOpusandDeath of a Unicorn, and then evenBring Her Back, which got great reviews, did not earn much.
Another company that has struggled this year is Blumhouse. They started off the year on a rocky note with their remake ofWolf Man. After that movie underperformed, they had another divisive film withThe Woman in the Yard.
Blumhouse unfortunately had another box office flopwith one of their more recent releases. Said movie, however, is now finding a second wind on streaming.
M3GAN 2.0 Is Selling Well Digitally
It’s Beating Some Higher-Grossing Titles
M3GAN 2.0is now finding a new audience on VOD. The movie is the sequel to the successful 2023 movieM3GAN. After that movie introduced audiences to the iconic AI doll,the sequel would continue its storyline while upping the stakesby presenting a dueling AI.
M3GANwas a smash hitupon its release in 2023. The movie earned a $180 million worldwide gross on an estimated $12 million budget. This was a huge win and led to a sequel being announced only shortly after the first’s release.
The success story was not nearly as clear with the sequel. Given the first movie’s success, theBlumhouse team more than doubled the budget forM3GAN 2.0, which cost around $25 million. They did not have the huge returns they wanted, however, as the film has only made $37.7 million worldwide.
M3GAN 2.0is now on digital, and its performance is more impressive than its theatrical performance. At the time of writing,M3GAN 2.0is at no. 5on theiTunesTop Movie Rentals chart in the United States. In order to get this status, it beat out higher-grossing movies likeSinnersandKarate Kid: Legends.
What This Means For The M3GAN 2.0 Universe
There Is Hope Still
M3GANwas a sensation when it came out in 2023, so it makes sense why Blumhouse might assume that any in-universe sequels or spinoffs would be as successful. As such, in addition to the recent sequel,they fast-tracked the 2026 spinoff movieSoulm8te.
However, the lackluster audience interest inM3GAN 2.0could spell a rocky future forSoulm8te.The digital success ofM3GAN 2.0, however, tells a more promising story. If people come to appreciate the movie digitally,it could give the franchise more momentumgoing into the January release ofSoulm8te.
M3GAN 2.0
Cast
M3GAN 2.0 is a 2025 sci-fi thriller that follows Gemma, the creator of M3GAN, as she resurrects and upgrades the AI companion. This time, M3GAN must thwart a powerful defense contractor’s misuse of her technology, which they have transformed into a military-grade weapon named Amelia.
