M3GAN scares up nearly $3 million in Thursday night previews

It’s nice to have a friend. And the new sci-fi horror M3GAN made a bunch of new friends with an audience that brought in $2.79 million in Thursday night preview screenings, according to Deadline. The new film about a killer A.I. doll had an effective viral promotion with not only the concept but also a recreation of an eerie scene depicted in the trailer where M3gan does some creepy dance moves down a hallway.

The Blumhouse-produced picture is tracking to make upwards of $20 million this weekend by Universal. Horror films don’t usually break the bank as much as larger franchise pictures, but there can be a consistent stream of humble successes. These genre pictures seem to be the last of the existing medians between indie movies and giant name-brand event films. Critics have rated M3GAN pretty highly, with an aggregate rating of 93% on RottenTomatoes. It’s expected to come in second to Avatar: The Way of Water, which is tracking to make around $25-$30 million this weekend.

M3GAN‘s Thursday earnings mirror that of Scream‘s numbers last year, which brought in a total of $30 million in its opening weekend. Avatar remains the top earner, as it brought in $6.7 million on just a thousand more screens. The James Cameron sequel makes a total of $113.5 million for the week. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish came in third on Thursday with $2 million. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be coming to Disney+ in February, but the November movie still brought in $490k on Thursday. The Whitney Houston biopic brought in an estimated $444k on its Thursday showings.

Babylon continues to struggle to find an audience as the Hollywood epic brings in $353k on Thursday. Although, its total box office take surpasses the total gross Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, which was still nominated for Academy Awards. So, Babylon‘s financial profit isn’t necessarily damning its chances for award season.

What do you think? Are you excited to be friends with M3GAN? Sound off below!