M3GAN
M3GAN is a 2022 American science fiction horror film with black comedy elements about an artificially intelligent doll who develops self-awareness and becomes hostile toward anyone who comes between her and her human companion. It was directed by Gerard Johnstone from a screenplay by Akela Cooper, based on a story by Cooper and James Wan. Allison Williams and Violet McGraw star, Amie Donald physically portrays M3GAN, and Jenna Davis voices the character. It is the first installment in the M3GAN franchise.
M3GAN premiered in Los Angeles on December 7, 2022, and Universal Pictures theatrically released it in the United States on January 6, 2023. The film grossed over $181 million worldwide against a budget of $12 million and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its campy blend of horror and humor. A sequel, M3GAN 2.0, was theatrically released in June 2025, and a spin-off, SOULM8TE, is set to follow.
Plot
After her parents are killed in a car collision, eight-year-old Cady is sent to live with her aunt Gemma, a roboticist at the high-tech Seattle toy company, Funki. Gemma is covertly using the company's resources to develop M3GAN, a child-sized humanoid robot doll powered by artificial intelligence, designed to be the ultimate companion for lonely children. During an unsuccessful test of M3GAN in their lab, Gemma's boss, David, discovers the project and orders her to discontinue work on it. Gemma and Cady struggle to connect until Cady comes across Bruce, a motion capture robot that Gemma had created at college. Watching Cady with Bruce, Gemma is motivated to complete M3GAN.When the prototype M3GAN is formally paired with Cady, David is convinced of the project's potential success. M3GAN exceeds expectations and begins to take on a parental role. Gemma's colleagues, Tess and Cole, and Cady's therapist, Lydia, become increasingly concerned about Cady developing an unhealthy emotional attachment to M3GAN. M3GAN starts operating more independently and targets anything that she deems a threat to Cady: she kills Dewey, the dog of Gemma's cantankerous neighbor Celia, after he attacks both her and Cady in the front yard. Sometime later, M3GAN attacks Brandon, a boy bullying Cady, by ripping off his ear and chasing him until he falls down a hill onto a road, where he is fatally run over by a passing car.
After Celia harasses Gemma and Cady concerning Dewey's disappearance, M3GAN confronts her the following night and shoots her with a nail gun before fatally spraying her with insecticide. Gemma becomes suspicious of M3GAN and attempts to check her video logs, only to find the files corrupted or deleted. Gemma powers M3GAN off and brings her to the lab, where she, Tess, and Cole attempt to fix her. Cady becomes distraught when separated from M3GAN and slaps Gemma across the face. Gemma apologizes for her inattentiveness and explains to Cady that M3GAN is only a distraction from her loss and not a solution to help her cope.
After watching M3GAN with Cady, Funki's investors greenlight M3GAN's release. Recognizing the risk she poses, Gemma, Tess, and Cole decide to terminate M3GAN. Tess and Cole attempt to shut M3GAN down while Gemma takes Cady home. However, M3GAN activates herself and nearly hangs Cole. While Tess saves Cole, M3GAN causes an explosion in their lab, knocking them out. Before exiting the building, M3GAN kills David and his assistant Kurt in an elevator, staging it as a murder–suicide. She steals a car and drives back to Gemma's house.
M3GAN confronts Gemma, adamant about taking over as Cady's sole caretaker. Gemma attempts to stop M3GAN, damaging and disfiguring her, but M3GAN ultimately overpowers her. Cady saves Gemma, using Bruce to tear M3GAN in half, but M3GAN's top half remains active and attacks Cady. Gemma exposes a processing chip in M3GAN's head, which Cady stabs with a screwdriver, apparently deactivating M3GAN. The authorities arrive with Tess and Cole. However, as Gemma and Cady exit the home, a camera wired into Gemma's smart-home system powers on and turn towards them.
Cast
Production
Development and writing
The idea of the film began when Wan's Atomic Monster production company was brainstorming story ideas and chose one about a killer doll. Although Wan's 2014 film Annabelle is about a killer doll, he said, "Pretty much the concept is about embracing technology too much and relying too much on it. And what happens when technology runs amok. It's a commentary on the world we live in and it feels relevant". Blum stated that the film would have black comedy elements which is one reason Johnstone was chosen to direct, saying "We needed someone who can do the thrills and set pieces, but who also has a cheeky approach". Wan admired Johnstone's film Housebound because of his ability to balance the horror and comedy elements by creating a tone that is both frightening and humorous, and this sensibility was essential for M3GAN.In July 2018, The Hollywood Reporter announced that production was underway for a "techno horror-thriller" titled M3GAN to be produced by James Wan and Jason Blum. Gerard Johnstone was confirmed to direct while Akela Cooper wrote the screenplay and story with Wan. Shooting was scheduled to begin in late 2018.
Casting
In October 2020, Allison Williams was cast in the leading role, followed by Violet McGraw in April 2021, and Ronny Chieng the following month.Filming
On a budget of $12 million, principal photography began in June 2021 and took place in Los Angeles, California, and Auckland, New Zealand. The suburbs of Auckland were utilized to lend the film a "Denver, Colorado, type feel". Filming was completed by mid-August right before a COVID-19 lockdown occurred in New Zealand. The film underwent reshoots in post-production in order to secure a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association, after the original cut was deemed too violent.Visual effects
and Kathy Tse of Morot FX Studio created an animatronic puppet version of M3GAN that was used for dialogue and close-ups. There was also a second animatronic used for certain scenes, as well as a possible stunt version of M3GAN that was not puppeteered. The animatronic M3GAN was puppeteered via a variety of techniques, which included radio-controlled facial expressions performed by Morot and Tse in tandem, automated lip-sync for the dialogue and a puppeteer physically moving M3GAN's head and body.Amie Donald performed M3GAN's scenes that called for physical movement the puppet could not do, and also performed her own stunts. Donald received movement coaching from Jed Brophy and Luke Hawker in portraying M3GAN's agility. On set Donald wore a static silicone M3GAN mask created by Morot FX and this was later replaced by a CGI version of M3GAN's face to match that of the animatronic.
In post-production, Donald's physical performance as M3GAN was enhanced by digital visual effects by the New Zealand–based visual effects studio Wētā Workshop. Speaking about the design of M3GAN, Johnstone stated that he "looked to screen icons from the '50s like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Kim Novak for inspiration. But I wanted some '70s naturalism to counteract her synthetic nature, so the hair is one hundred percent Peggy Lipton."
Music
Release
M3GAN had its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on December 7, 2022, and was released theatrically in the United States on January 6, 2023. It was originally scheduled to be released on January 13, 2023, before being moved up a week in order to avoid competition with House Party and the wide expansion of A Man Called Otto, which were also scheduled for January 13.Marketing
The teaser poster for the film was unveiled at the 2022 CinemaCon. The first trailer was released on October 11, 2022, set to Taylor Swift's "It's Nice to Have a Friend". After its premiere, a scene of M3GAN dancing became an Internet meme and gained widespread attention on social media platforms like TikTok. The viral moment helped to build buzz for the film's release. The second and final trailer was released on December 7, 2022, set to Bella Poarch's "Dolls". In the final film, M3GAN dances to "Walk the Night" by Skatt Brothers. On January 8, 2023, Williams revealed that she and the marketing team at Universal had debated whether to include the scene in the trailer or save it for when audiences saw the film in theaters. She told The Hollywood Reporter, "When we saw the first cut of the trailer, we were all hemming and hawing about whether or not to let the dance be out in the trailer or try to keep it as a surprise in the movie... And boy, the forces of marketing at Universal were right to keep it in the trailer, because it just helped, honestly."Home media
M3GAN premiered on the streaming service Peacock on February 24, 2023. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on March 21, 2023, with all formats receiving an unrated version.Reception
Box office
M3GAN grossed $95.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $86.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $181.8 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $78.8million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.In the United States and Canada, M3GAN was initially projected to gross $17–20 million from 3,509 theaters in its opening weekend. After making $11.7 million on its first day, estimates were increased to $27.5 million. It went on to debut to $30.4 million, finishing in second place at the box office behind holdover Avatar: The Way of Water. The film made $18.3 million in its second weekend, remaining in second. In its third and fourth weekends the film made $9.7 million and $6.4 million, finishing in third and fourth place, respectively.