Why M3GAN 2.0 could be the biggest FLOP of the year as scathing reviews pour in for horror sequel
It was one of the most anticipated and heavily marketed movies of the year, but M3GAN 2.0 is now shaping up to be 2025's biggest flop.
Despite a relentless marketing campaign that's included celebrity tie-ins with the likes of Megan Thee Stallion, Trisha Paytas, and Britney Spears, M3GAN 2.0 has so far been savaged by most critics and moviegoers.
One review called the action-packed sequel 'shockingly bad' while another said it was '0.0 percent watchable.'
'A sequel that is a horrendous mishmash of ideas and influence, M3GAN 2.0 is occasionally outrageous, but mostly it's derivative, bewildering, and bland,' wrote Mashable.
'Switching genres in a futile effort to justify the series' continued existence, this misbegotten creation is a leaden and aimless bit of cinematic malware,' wrote The Daily Beast in a review titled, 'You'll Be Shocked by How Bad M3GAN 2.0 Is.'
'M3GAN 2.0 simply isn't as much as the first film,' wrote Variety. 'Where the first film was ahead of the curve, M3GAN 2.0 has been made in the thick of the AI explosion and is all too aware of it.'
IndieWire complained that the 'sequel swaps AI horror for desperate action-comedy' before criticizing the cringe marketing campaign around it.
'In her first movie, M3GAN was campy enough to become an accidental gay icon,' they wrote.
'Now, in June 2025, Blumhouse is sending her sequel to theaters on a confused wave of Pride-themed marketing so niche it seems likely to undercut the film's PG-13 rating.'
Meanwhile, The New York Post said 'the stupid sequel desperately desires is to be campy, gay bar fodder.
'Rocky Horror, it's not. But boy is it rocky; two hours of obnoxiousness with scattered giggles at the doll's dry putdowns.'
'M3GAN 2.0 is exactly 0.0 percent watchable,' added Rolling Stone.
'So the horror doll is now an action hero? Fighting tech bros with kung fu? WTF is going on here?'
The movie is also shaping up to disappoint at the box office according to early predictions.
Various reports state that M3GAN 2.0 could open at around $15 million to $20 million, which is significantly less than the $31 million that the original opened with.
'I've held off saying this for a while, but the first day of sales confirmed what I feared,' wrote Empire City Box Office.
'I think #M3GAN 2.0 is in some trouble. Horror fans seem upset it's not a horror and I fear others think it's too goofy. Summer is packed. Who is the core audience for this now?'
However, it's not all doom and gloom for M3GAN 2.0 just yet.
The movie still managed to pull in glowing reviews from The Wrap, Slant, and Empire.
A number of fans on social media have also enjoyed the film, with one posting on X (formerly Twitter) that it's 'absurd, over-the-top and just plain fun.'
'M3GAN 2.0 WAS FIRE!' gushed another. 'The action sequences, the humor, the silliness of it all blends together into an endlessly fun experience!
'I loved the chemistry between M3GAN and the rest of the cast and how it explores the dangers of diving too deep into AI.'
The first M3GAN was a surprise box office success in 2022, raking in over $226 million from a paltry $12 million budget.
It also had a surprisingly high Rotten Tomatoes score of 93 percent, making it a hit with critics and viewers alike.
It's unclear if a third M3GAN movie will be made, but an official spin-off titled SOULM8TE is already set for next year.
M3GAN 2.0 stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Amie Donald, and Jenna Davis.
The action-packed sequel sees killer AI robot doll M3GAN go to war against a military robot called AMELIA in a bid to stop an AI takeover of the world.
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Losing creative control Cinema Center Films called a crisis meeting and took control of the film. McQueen had to agree to relinquish his executive producer role and give up his $1 million salary. He was ordered to decide on a script – any script, it didn't matter. The studio wanted a Steve McQueen picture to make up for the escalating costs. The film was now $1.5 million over budget and several months behind schedule. When Sturges also walked off the film, declaring, 'I'm too rich and too old for this s___. I'm going home,' Cinema Center Films replaced him with Lee Katzin. McQueen was forced to take a back seat. Even with the creative compromises forced on him, there still isn't much of a story in Le Mans beyond McQueen brooding over the track and connecting with the widow of a driver killed the year before, who questions why he feels the need to drive. Other than that, it's just racing and the circus around it. Le Mans finally arrived in cinemas in June 1971. It made around $6 million domestically from a budget reported to be somewhere between $7 and $10 million. McQueen didn't attend the premiere. But watched now, the race footage is mesmerising, drawing you in – arguably the closest any sports film comes to recreating the sport on which it is based – with an almost art-house feel to everything off the track. 'It's a different kind of film; it's very stoic,' says Iscovich, who reconnected with McQueen before his death in 1980. 'It's like a silent film in many ways.'
