M3GAN, the killer doll that triumphs at the global box office

M3GAN, a horror film about an android doll that is sweet in appearance only, has become the first big box office hit of 2023, grossing more than $100 million worldwide.

For months the images of this haunting doll They run through social networks, after a scene from the film in which he appears dancing went viral and was recreated by thousands of users on platforms such as TikTok.

On its opening weekend in early January, the film exceeded all expectations, grossing over $30 million at the North American box office.

“Word of mouth is skyrocketing,” Jim Orr, of the Universal studio, said a few days ago about the success of the film.

Much more than taking care of a girl

M3GAN is the English abbreviation for Model 3 Generative Android (Model 3 generative android).

In the film, this hauntingly angelic-looking android is asked to to befriend and protect an 8 year old girl whose parents died in a car accident.

M3GAN’s initial innocent nature soon takes a threatening turn as he begins to take his duty to protect Cady very seriously.

When the trailer for the film was released in October, viewers were immediately captivated by one scene in particular: when a blank-faced M3GAN performs a childish but chilling dance before going after one of his victims.

The scene quickly became a meme, with music from the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion being played to it, while thousands of users also recreated it themselves.

Videos with the hashtags #M3gan, #M3gandance and #M3ganmovie had been viewed more than 1.5 billion times on TikTok as of early January.

Good critics

“Even before the film was released, M3GAN has become iconic,” wrote Empire Magazine.

buzzfeed said the character had become “an instant legend,” while The Cut called M3GAN “the latest and most murderous it girl of the cinema”.

Comparisons have been made of M3GAN to previous devil dolls such as Annabelle and Chucky.

M3GAN producer James Wan described it as a mix of “Annabelle and the Terminator”while a rivalry between M3GAN and Chucky has been created on Twitter.

The reviews have certainly helped the film’s success, with IndieWire’s film critic saying, “M3GAN is destined to enter the pantheon of killer dolls and stay there forever.”

The film currently has a 94% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes movie review sitenoting many of the reviews that M3GAN is funny because it doesn’t take itself very seriously.

The film has already more than recouped its $12 million budget and is a rare example of a film outside of an established franchise that has brought moviegoers to the theater in droves.

“Horror movies don’t show a slowdown at the box office. Young people want to see them with their friends, on the big screen, to feel the maximum emotion,” David A Gross, of Franchise Entertainment Research, told the AFP news agency.

The film seems to be having a particular hit with the LGBT communityarriving the mythical humor program Saturday night Live to do a sketch about the iconic status that M3GAN seems to have among gay people.