M3GAN Box Office Previews Launch With Strong $2.75 Million

The critically acclaimed Blumhouse movie M3GAN took in $2.75 million at preview night screenings last night, kicking off a weekend expected to earn between $15 and $20 million for Universal. Independent tracking was actually expecting the film to surpass $20 million, but with a $17 million official projection from Universal, it’s clear that anything in that neighborhood is going to be seen as a success. The movie, about a killer robot/doll, has a reported budget of $12 million. Even with $20 million, the film is not expected to surpass Avatar: The Way of Water this weekend, which is expected to earn between $25 and $30 million.

M3GAN is the new horror-thriller from Blumhouse that became an instant hit on social media when the trailer dropped last year. The new movie follows a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion, but her creation has unimaginable consequences. M3GAN officially hits theaters tomorrow night, and it’s already up on Rotten Tomatoes with an impressive critics’ score. After debuting on Rotten Tomatoes with a 97% score, the movie currently sits at 95%.

M3GAN is will be a theatrical exclusive, meaning you’ll have to wait a bit to watch it at home. Universal Pictures previously made a deal with exhibitors that would provide shorter windows of exclusivity depending on the success of a movie, but they’ve also had a number of horror movies do simultaneous releases in theaters and on Peacock (most notably, the last two Halloween installments, also from Blumhouse).

Next week’s Sick, a thriller about a group of girls who find themselves stalked at a lake house while quarantining at a lake house, will drop on Peacock on its first day.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by brilliant toy-company roboticist Gemma (Get Out‘s Allison Williams), M3GAN can listen and watch and learn as she becomes friend and teacher, playmate and protector, for the child she is bonded to.

When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems — a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.

M3GAN is in theaters now.

h/t Deadline