She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment. She’s M3gan, the killer-doll flick that set the internet ablaze when the titular android did a little dance in an October trailer. M3gan slaughtered box-office estimates with its $30.2 million opening weekend at 3,509 North American theaters, per Variety, while the international box office took in $14.8 million. Industry officials expected a $17 million to $20 million weekend in North America for the Universal and Blumhouse release, severely underestimating the horror film’s outstanding word of mouth and the power of viral memes for a movie people actually want to see (yes, this is Morbius catching strays). Universal and Blumhouse didn’t skimp on the marketing, either. A gaggle of M3gans — eight performers cosplaying as the doll — danced their way through the film’s premiere, some sporting events, and prominent New York locations to get die-hard fans hyped about the film. It worked: M3gan has already earned enough to cover its $12 million budget and has injected some much-needed life into struggling cinemas. Although not enough to stab Avatar: The Way of Water off the box-office pedestal (the sequel is swimming in over a billy globally and netted $45 million domestically this weekend), it’s the largest debut for an original film since Jordan Peele’s Nope, which opened to the tune of $44 million last summer. A sequel is already rumored to be in development, possibly giving M3gan another box office to kill in the future.
