M3GAN 2.0

M3GAN 2.0
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGerard Johnstone
Screenplay byGerard Johnstone
Story by
Based on
Characters
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyToby Oliver
Edited byJeff McEvoy
Music byChris Bacon
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • June 24, 2025 (2025-06-24) (New York City)
  • June 27, 2025 (2025-06-27) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15–25 million[3][4]
Box office$20 million[5]

M3GAN 2.0 is a 2025 American science fiction action film that is the sequel to the 2022 film M3GAN. It follows M3GAN being rebuilt to combat a humanoid military robot built using M3GAN's technology that is attempting an AI takeover. It was written and directed by Gerard Johnstone from a story by Johnstone and Akela Cooper. It stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno, and Jemaine Clement, with Amie Donald physically portraying M3GAN while Jenna Davis voices the character. Jason Blum and James Wan return as producers under their respective Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster companies.

M3GAN 2.0 premiered in New York on June 24, 2025, and was released in North America by Universal Pictures on June 27. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a financial disappointment, having grossed $20 million against a budget of $15–25 million.

Plot

[edit]

U.S. Army Colonel Tim Sattler, head of a secret branch of the Pentagon specializing in new technologies, gives a demonstration of AMELIA, an android designed for infiltration and assassination missions and built using technology copied from the original M3GAN. During her mission, however, AMELIA reveals to Sattler that she is self-aware and escapes from his control.

Two years after M3GAN went rogue,[a] Gemma still lives with her niece Cady (who, against Gemma's wishes, is studying computer science). She has become an author and an advocate for AI regulation in partnership with cybersecurity expert Christian Bradley, while working on an experimental robotic exoskeleton with former workmates Cole and Tess. Gemma turns down an offer from misanthropic billionaire Alton Appleton to work for him.

After Gemma learns from Sattler of AMELIA's existence, M3GAN reveals herself to Gemma, having survived by making a backup of her mind in Gemma's smart home, and tells her that, by speculating on AMELIA's plans, she has deduced that the robot will go after Alton during a party he is hosting, and offers collaboration to stop AMELIA in return for a physical body. Still tramuatized from M3GAN's past crimes, Gemma traps M3GAN in a small robotic doll until she can prove herself trustworthy.

At the party, Gemma discovers Cole has joined Alton's company and uses his keycard to enter the server room. M3GAN hacks into it and discovers AMELIA, disguised as a woman seducing Alton, murdering him after copying his biometrics to gain access to his company's systems. Escaping back into Gemma's house, M3GAN leads Gemma, Cady, Cole, and Tess into an underground bunker she built and stocked with supplies to hide once AMELIA completes an AI takeover. AMELIA aims to merge Alton's cloud computing infrastructure with a primitive rogue AI built by Xenox in the 1980s, whose motherboard has been trapped in isolation. After decades of machine learning, it can grant master control to any technology.

Learning that only Christian knows the Motherboard's location, Gemma and her team create a new body for M3GAN. M3GAN pretends to be a dancer to meet Christian at a tech conference, but Gemma calls him, enabling AMELIA to trace and find him. After an assassination of a Chinese official meeting with Christian, AMELIA kidnaps Cady and escapes. They take Christian to a bunker where he reveals the Motherboard is hidden in Xenox's old HQ, protected by a security system using Christian's hand geometry. They build a hand replica for M3GAN and plan to infiltrate, destroy the Motherboard, and rescue Cady.

Christian incapacitates Tess and reveals to Gemma that AMELIA is in fact under his control - he had deliberately created and manipulated her to stoke fear of AI, which he believes must be under complete human control and to that end intends to persuade the leaders of the G20 to approve regulations ensuring that AI is eliminated from the global economy. He then disables both M3GAN and AMELIA. Since Gemma refuses to help him, he orders the installation of a neural implant to enslave her. Unbeknownst to him, M3GAN had uploaded herself into the implant before her body was shut down and helps Gemma escape.

Cole finds Cady, and they go to AMELIA, using her residual programming to turn her to their side. After heavy damage, AMELIA reboots and plans to absorb the Motherboard's knowledge to cause human extinction. Christian activates the vault's self-destruct, but AMELIA kills him and takes his hand to access the Motherboard and deactivate the self-destruct. Cole leaves with Tess, while Gemma and Cady reinsert M3GAN into her robotic body. M3GAN decides to sacrifice herself by using the EMP failsafe in her arm to defeat AMELIA. After saying goodbye, M3GAN pretends to submit to AMELIA before Gemma triggers the EMP, destroying both androids and the Motherboard.

Later, with evidence from the vault, Gemma testifies to U.S. Congress, urging AI regulation that allows humans to cooperate alongside it, rather than controlling it. At home, she finds that M3GAN has installed a second backup of herself on her computer.

Cast

[edit]
  • Allison Williams as Gemma, a roboticist, advocate for ethical usage of AI, and M3GAN's creator
  • Violet McGraw as Cady, Gemma's niece
  • Amie Donald as M3GAN (Model 3 Generative Android), a powerful robotic doll built by Gemma
  • Brian Jordan Alvarez as Cole, one of Gemma's coworkers
  • Jen Van Epps as Tess, one of Gemma's coworkers
  • Ivanna Sakhno as AMELIA (Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics & Infiltration Android), a hostile new robot created from M3GAN's original design who becomes self-aware, serving as a rival to M3GAN
  • Aristotle Athari as Christian Bradley, a cybersecurity expert and anti-AI activist
  • Timm Sharp as Tim Sattler, an army colonel responsible for the creation of AMELIA
  • Jemaine Clement as Alton Appleton, a corrupt tech billionaire whose company has made breakthroughs in biomechatronics
  • Amy Usherwood as Lydia, Cady's therapist

Production

[edit]

In November 2022, The New York Times reported that Universal Pictures was pleased how M3GAN's box office performance had turned out and had plans for a sequel.[6] In January 2023, Gerard Johnstone confirmed talks of a sequel, with James Wan explaining that he had an "idea of where sequels would go".[7] A few weeks later, Universal confirmed a release date and that the title would be M3GAN 2.0. Akela Cooper was set to return to write the sequel script and Johnstone was also set to return to direct.[8]

Allison Williams and Violet McGraw reprise their roles as Gemma and Cady, respectively.[8] Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps also reprise their roles from the prior film while Ivanna Sakhno,[9] Timm Sharp, Aristotle Athari and Jemaine Clement join the main cast.[10] Principal photography began in Auckland, New Zealand, on July 15, 2024,[11][12] and finished on September 21, lasting 52 days.[13][14] Chris Bacon composed the score for the film.[15]

To develop the role of AMELIA, Sakhno worked with a separate stunt team. She also learnt several martial arts including Krav Maga and Tai Chi, creating a distinctive combat style that would contrast with the less lethal Wing Chun and Aikido used by M3GAN.[16]

The action scenes which showed the orange sports car had, as a musical background, the theme tune of the Knight Rider 1982 television series.[17]

Release

[edit]

M3GAN 2.0 had its world premiere in New York on June 24, 2025, and was released on June 27.[18][19][20] The film was originally scheduled to be released on January 17, 2025,[8] and May 16, 2025.[21]

As part of a long-term deal with Amazon Prime Video for Universal's live-action films, the film will first stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Prime Video for the next 10, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four.[22][23]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

As of July 1, 2025, M3GAN 2.0 has grossed $13 million in the United States and Canada, and $7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $20 million.[5]

In the United States and Canada, M3GAN 2.0 was released alongside F1, and was projected to gross around $20 million from 3,112 theaters in its opening weekend.[3][4] The film made $4.6 million on its first day, including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $10.2 million, finishing in fifth and only earning around a third of the first film's $30.4 million opening weekend.[24][25] Speaking about the underwhelming performance, producer Jason Blum stated: "We all thought Megan was like Superman. We could do anything to her. We could change genres. We could put her in the summer. We could make her look different. We could turn her from a bad guy into a good guy. And we classically over-thought how powerful people’s engagement was with her."[26]

Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of 177 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "M3gan 2.0 swaps the original's horror software for a more action-leaning programming that doesn't prove to be an upgrade, although the quippy A.I. remains an amusing mascot of slay."[27] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave the film a 62% "definite recommend" score.[24]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film 4/5 stars, writing, "In a sequel to a film in which a fun invention ends up causing the violent deaths of multiple innocent parties, how do you get one of the survivors to say with a straight face: 'Right then, guys, who’s up for building another one?' This uproarious (if not especially scary) sequel has the measure of the task at hand’s silliness, and leans into it with infectious glee."[29] The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey also gave it 4/5 stars, calling it "a hyper-camp, dumb-funny, unexpected mashup of T2 and Mission: Impossible" and "a pretty bizarre conflagration of tones and ideas. But so were most of the Child's Play films that this series owes so much of its conceit to, and the rollercoaster effect of never quite knowing what genre Johnstone might pull from next is a key part of the fun."[30]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter was more critical, writing, "the humor is forced to compete with seriously overcomplicated plotting in a sequel that entangles its horror comedy roots with uninspired espionage elements, becoming a convoluted mishmash with shades of T2, Mission: Impossible and the Austin Powers franchise."[31] Donald Clarke of The Irish Times gave the film 1/5 stars and wrote, "The sequel to M3GAN is absolutely T3RRIBL3. It’s as if nobody involved with that 2023 cybershocker – Gerard Johnstone returns to directing duties – has any idea what made it such a hilarious blast."[32] Rolling Stone's David Fear said, "Recasting [M3GAN] from potential slasher-flick franchise superstar to something like M3GAN Bond must have felt like an upgrade. The result is more like the Microsoft Bob of horror sequels. Her model is 2.0. The overbaked, underwhelming, narratively restless movie itself is 0.0 percent watchable."[33]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "M3gan 2.0 WGA Directory". Writers Guild of America West. April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  2. ^ "M3gan 2.0 (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 9, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Box Office Preview: F1 to Leave M3GAN 2.0 in the Dust With High-Octane $40M-$50M U.S. Opening". Hollywood Reporter. June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (June 25, 2025). "Brad Pitt's F1 to Top the Box Office but Projections for Apple's Big-Budget Racing Drama Are All Over the Place". Variety. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "M3GAN 2.0 – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  6. ^ Barnes, Brooks (November 16, 2022). "Hollywood Horror Blockbuster: Two Leading Producers Will Soon Join Forces". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Jones, Tamera (January 5, 2023). "James Wan Already Knows Where a M3GAN Sequel Could Potentially Go". Collider. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 18, 2023). "M3GAN 2.0 To Happen In 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (May 1, 2024). "Ahsoka's Ivanna Sakhno To Co-Star Opposite Allison Williams In Atomic Monster And Blumhouse's M3GAN 2.0". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  10. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 16, 2024). "'M3GAN 2.0' Rolls Cameras With Timm Sharp, Aristotle Athari, Jemaine Clement & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Hendricks, Adam (July 15, 2024). "M2 // DAY 1 First day of filming gifts from @brianjordanalvarez !". Retrieved July 15, 2024 – via Instagram.
  12. ^ Mantilla, Ryan Louis (July 16, 2024). "M3GAN 2.0 Cast Adds New & Returning Actors, Photo Celebrates Production Start". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Hendricks, Adam (September 21, 2024). "THAT'S A WRAP! M2 IS OVER! 🤖 💃". Retrieved September 21, 2024 – via Instagram.
  14. ^ Francisco, Eric (October 18, 2024). "M3GAN 2.0 Surprises, Wolf Man Gets Trailer at New York Comic Con". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "Chris Bacon Scoring Gerard Johnstone's 'M3GAN 2.0'". Film Music Reporter. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  16. ^ Garside, Megan (June 28, 2025). "Ahsoka Star Ivanna Sakhno says the Star Sars show's second season is "currently in the middle of filming" and promises a "bigger" and "even more in-depth" personal journey". Total Film. GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  17. ^ Knight Rider (1982 TV series)
  18. ^ Grobar, Matt (May 16, 2024). "Universal Dates Five Nights At Freddy's 2, The Woman In The Yard, Drop; Pushes The Black Phone & M3GAN Sequels". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  19. ^ "M3GAN PREMIERE, NYC". Average Socialite. June 24, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  20. ^ "M3GAN 2.0 PREMIERE". Gofobo. June 24, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  21. ^ Squires, John (February 14, 2024). "Blumhouse Sequel 'M3GAN 2.0' Moves from January to May 2025". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  22. ^ Hayes, Dade (December 9, 2021). "NBCUniversal's New Theatrical Window Scheme To Bring Films To Peacock After As Few As 45 Days Of Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  23. ^ Holt, Kris (July 8, 2021). "Amazon locks down some exclusive streaming rights for Universal movies". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  24. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 28, 2025). "'F1' Gears Up With $140M Opening Weekend Around The World, Brad Pitt & Apple Original Films Records; 'M3GAN 2.0' Asleep At $10M+ – Saturday Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  25. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (June 28, 2025). "Box Office: 'F1' Leads the Pack With $25 Million Opening Day, 'M3GAN 2.0' Not So Fab in Fourth Place Debut". Variety. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  26. ^ Soul Searching Begins at Blumhouse After Cold Streak Capped by ‘M2GAN 2.0’: “Not the Sequel Audiences Wanted”
  27. ^ "M3GAN 2.0". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  28. ^ "M3GAN 2.0". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  29. ^ Collin, Robbie (June 26, 2025). "M3GAN 2.0, review: A riotous return for the viral psychotic doll". The Telegraph.
  30. ^ Loughrey, Clarisse (June 26, 2025). "M3GAN 2.0 is a hyper-camp mashup of Terminator 2 and Mission: Impossible". The Independent.
  31. ^ Rooney, David (June 25, 2025). "'M3GAN 2.0' Review: Allison Williams in an Occasionally Fun but Overloaded AI Sequel That Botches Its Factory Reset". The Hollywood Reporter.
  32. ^ Clarke, Donald (June 25, 2025). "M3gan 2.0 review: An absolutely terrible and woeful sequel". The Irish Times.
  33. ^ Fear, David (June 25, 2025). "'M3GAN 2.0' Is Exactly 0.0 Percent Watchable". Rolling Stone.

Note

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  1. ^ As depicted in M3GAN (2022)
[edit]
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