‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ maintains the top spot at the box office, but “M3GAN” dominates with a $30 million debut

Neve Campbell and Jamie Lee Curtis should go. A new scream queen has arrived in town.

The creepy doll thriller “M3GAN,” which stands for Model 3 Generative Android, was released by Universal and Blumhouse this past weekend. It opened to a better-than-anticipated $30.2 million from 3,509 theaters across North America. To date, the film has earned $14.8 million worldwide, bringing its total worldwide to $45 million.

The PG-13 film was expected to open to $17 million to $20 million in North America heading into the weekend. However, excellent word-of-mouth and audiences’ enduring love of horror significantly exceeded expectations. The movie with a budget of $12 million is off to a great start.

Atomic Monster was a fantastic production by Blumhouse and James Wan. Universal’s president of domestic distribution, Jim Orr, describes the experience as thrilling, frightening, and fun. The amount of referrals is unstoppable.

Because January is typically a box office dead zone, the attendance for “M3GAN” is especially encouraging to Hollywood and theater owners. Since 2012’s “The Devil Inside,” which opened to $33.7 million, “M3GAN” is the first film to open to more than $30 million in the first week of the new year.

The fact that this doll did well at the box office is not that surprising. Due to her amazing choreography and overall chaotic energy, M3GAN became a viral internet sensation in the weeks leading up to its release. With clever marketing strategies like troupes of dancing dolls at the film’s premiere and sporting events, Universal and Blumhouse were able to profit from the popularity of the internet.

“M3GAN,” which was directed by Gerard Johnstone, is about a roboticist (Allison Williams) who creates a realistic AI creation for her recently orphaned niece (Violet McGraw).

The head of the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, David A. Gross, asserts, “Young moviegoers want to see them with their friends, on the big screen, for the maximum thrill.” For the greatest thrill, young moviegoers want to see them with their friends on the big screen.”

Despite its impressive quality, “M3GAN”‘s ticket sales were insufficient to oust James Cameron’s enduring blockbuster sequel “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” The Way of Water, which has established itself as the No. 4 consecutive weeks on the domestic box office charts. Disney and 20th Century Fox’s sci-fi epic earned a healthy $45 million from 4,340 theaters, a mere 33% decrease from the previous weekend. In North America, “Avatar 2” has brought in $516 million and $1.1 billion worldwide thus far. It is currently the seventh biggest movie in history, grossing $1.708 billion worldwide.

“Between ‘M3GAN’s’ opening and ‘Avatar 2’s’ sensational fourth weekend, this is a solid start to the year,” Gross adds. “Is it too soon to declare 2023 a complete and utter success?”

With “The Way of Water” and “M3GAN”‘s combined power, the film industry has reason to celebrate as 2023 begins. However, it is still far from returning to pre-pandemic levels. The studios released fewer films in 2022, which contributed to a 30% decline in the box office from 2019 to 2022. Additionally, moviegoing habits changed during COVID. However, with blockbuster-hopefuls like “Mission: Impossible,” there is certain hope that the following year will be stronger than the previous 24. “Fast X,” “Impossible 7,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” on time, as well as potential breakouts like the neon-coated “Barbie” by Greta Gerwig and the war drama “Oppenheimer” by Christopher Nolan.

Holdovers from 2022 rounded out the top five at the domestic box office. The movie “Puss in Boots: With $12.4 million from 3,919 venues, the animated sequel to “Shrek,” “The Last Wish,” came in third place. The family-friendly “Puss in Boots 2” has made $87 million in North America and $197 million worldwide after three weeks of release. The price tag is $90 million.

The No. 1 spot went to Sony’s heartwarming drama “A Man Called Otto,” starring Tom Hanks as a widower. 4th place, bringing in $4.2 million from just 637 theaters. Over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, the studio intends to release the movie all over the country.

Marvel and Disney’s “Black Panther: With $3.3 million in its ninth weekend in theaters, “Wakanda Forever” came in fifth place. Domestically, the superhero sequel has made $445 million thus far.

One of the few independent films actually attracting audiences to theaters is A24’s “The Whale,” an awards contender. Over the course of the weekend, the film starring Brendan Fraser, which portrays an obese college professor, brought in $1.5 million from 835 screens, resulting in the strongest hold in the top 10. “The Whale” has made $8.58 million after spending weeks in limited release.