Two and a half years ago, Blumhouse scored a sci-fi horror hit with the demonic doll tale M3GAN and now the inevitable sequel M3GAN 2.0 arrives June 27th. Gerard Johnstone returns to direct along with cast members Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Amie Donald (embodying the title character), and Jenna Davis (voicing her). New faces to the franchise include Jenna Davis, Ivanna Sakhno, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, and Jemaine Clement.
In January of 2023, M3GAN rode a wave of buzz to a better than anticipated $30 million premiere and $95 million overall domestic take. Early projections have part 2 (.0) achieving around the same number. It absolutely could, but I have a nagging feeling it may fall short.
I suspect there might be casual viewers who aren’t clamoring to view the AI killer’s next moves. There was a bit of a novelty factor to the original that may not carry over to those same theater goers. Therefore I’m saying low to mid 20s is more likely.
M3GAN 2.0 opening weekend prediction: $21.7 million
The Critics’ Choice Awards are one of the more reliable precursors when it comes to movies and actors who might receive Oscar nominations. Hopefuls will hear their names called tomorrow for the 29th annual ceremony.
This show can sometimes be unpredictable with how many nominees there will be in each race. Last year there were 11 in Picture, 10 in Director, and 6 for others. I’ll project 10 in Pic and Director and go with six in the remainder of the derbies (and an alternate), but don’t be surprised if they alter the formula.
Let’s get to it!
Picture
American Fiction
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
May December
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Alternate: The Color Purple
Director
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Greta Gerwig, Barbie
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
Todd Haynes, May December
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Alexander Payne, The Holdovers
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Celine Song, Past Lives
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Alternate: Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
Actress
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall
Greta Lee, Past Lives
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Emma Stone, Poor Things
Alternate: Natalie Portman, May December
Actor
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Alternate: Colman Domingo, Rustin
Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Penelope Cruz, Ferrari
Rachel McAdams, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Julianne Moore, May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Alternate: Jodie Foster, Nyad
Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, Poor Things
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Charles Melton, May December
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Alternate: John Magaro, Past Lives
Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
May December
Past Lives
Saltburn
Alternate: Maestro
Adapted Screenplay
All of Us Strangers
American Fiction
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Alternate: The Zone of Interest
Foreign Language Film
Anatomy of a Fall
Monster
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Taste of Things
The Zone of Interest
Alternate: Fallen Leaves
Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Alternate: Wish
Cinematography
The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
Alternate: The Zone of Interest
Costume Design
Barbie
Chevalier
The Color Purple
Killers of the Flower Moon
Poor Things
Priscilla
Alternate: Oppenheimer
Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Alternate: The Holdovers
Makeup
Barbie
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Maestro
Nyad
Poor Things
Society of the Snow
Alternate: Oppenheimer
Production Design
Asteroid City
Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Alternate: Maestro
Score
Elemental
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Alternate: The Boy and the Heron
Song
“Dance the Night” from Barbie
“I’m Just Ken” from Barbie
“Quiet Eyes” from Past Lives
“Road to Freedom” from Rustin
“This Wish” from Wish
“What Was I Made For?” from Barbie
Alternate: “Peaches” from The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Visual Effects
The Creator
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Alternate: Napoleon
Ensemble
Air
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Saltburn
Alternate: The Color Purple
Comedy
American Fiction
Asteroid City
Barbie
Joy Ride
The Holdovers
No Hard Feelings
Alternate: Bottoms
Young Actor/Actress
Joe Bird, Talk to Me
Andrew Barth Feldman, No Hard Feelings
Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Ariana Greenblatt, Barbie
Milo Machado-Graner, Anatomy of a Fall
Violet McGraw, M3GAN
Alternate: Iman Vellani, The Marvels
And that equates to these movies generating these numbers of nominations:
14 Nominations
Barbie, Poor Things
12 Nominations
Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer
7 Nominations
Maestro, Past Lives
6 Nominations
Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers
5 Nominations
May December
4 Nominations
American Fiction, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
3 Nominations
The Color Purple, Saltburn
2 Nominations
All of Us Strangers, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Asteroid City, Elemental, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, No Hard Feelings, Society of the Snow, The Zone of Interest
1 Nomination
Air, The Boy and the Heron, Chevalier, The Creator, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Ferrari, Godzilla Minus One, Joy Ride, The Killer, M3GAN, Monster, Nimona, Nyad, Perfect Days, Priscilla, Robot Dreams, Rustin, Talk to Me, The Taste of Things, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Wish
It’s nice to have a trailer that’s inspired countless memes – mainly from its demented title character doll busting creepy dance moves. M3GAN is the first wide release of 2023 and it appears poised to start the year off on a profitable note. The sci-fi horror pic comes from director Gerard Johnstone with a screenplay by Malignant scribe Akela Cooper. Jason Blum and James Wan serve as producers as the Blumhouse label looks to have another buzzy hit. Allison Williams headlines the cast and she’s no stranger to moneymaking fright fests that open early in the calendar year (2017’s Get Out). The supporting players include Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, and Brian Jordan Alvarez.
With a marketing campaign showcasing the alarming and humorous robotic pal, M3GAN may open on pace with other hit genre pics of recent times. I could see it debuting somewhere in between the $30 million from last January’s Scream reboot and the near $23 million that Smile took in during the fall. That’ll be enough to produce smiles and screams of joy for Universal.
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