With box office numbers lower on average than other times of the year, January and February are generally considered to be “dump months,” where the film industry drops off movies it doesn’t want to waste more lucrative release slots on. But the lack of tentpole releases has allowed horror to carve out a place for itself in the quieter months. Last January, “Scream” scored an impressive $30 million opening on its way to a worldwide total of $140 million.
With a production budget of $12 million, “M3GAN” is already close to breaking even, depending on the marketing spend for the movie — which may have been substantial, given the troupe of dancing M3GANs we’ve seen out and about. Still, last year’s “Smile” proved that eye-grabbing marketing stunts can pay off nicely at the box office.
“M3GAN” may also be getting a boost from rave reviews. The movie currently has an impressive critic score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews praising it for embracing the camp silliness of the premise (a prototype “best friend” android doll goes rogue and slaughters people while looking fabulous). /Film’s Jeff Ewing said “there’s something to enjoy in just about every single minute of its runtime.” If that hype translates into positive word of mouth, there’s a chance for “M3GAN” to steal the crown from “Avatar: The Way of Water” next weekend.