Gerard Johnstone: Last News

M3GAN – the murderous robot doll from the 2023 horror film of the same name – to your family; minus its killer intent.Replica doll manufacturer the National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) has announced that life-sized replicas of the creepy robot from M3GAN are now available for pre-order. However, unlike the film it’s based on, NECA’s replicas won’t come with animatronics or any form of circuitry.Instead, the replica doll will be just that – a posable doll that ins’t capable of much else (and if you’ve seen the movie, that’s probably a good thing).

New details about the cast of M3GAN 2.0 have been revealed!

EXCLUSIVE: New Zealand has long been known as a prime destination for big budget films such as Avatar and The Lord of the Rings thanks to its enviable locations, skilled crew base and generous 40% tax rebate. But, earlier this year when Avatar: The Way of Water was on its way to breaking multiple box office records as it climbed to its $2.3BN tally, there was another New Zealand-shot project that was making a dent in the global box office chart. Universal, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s killer doll hit M3GAN amassed an impressive $176M worldwide from just a $12M budget after its January release.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The beautifully creepy android doll from “M3GAN” is shimmying her way into your home. The unrated cut of the satirical sci-fi horror film will begin streaming exclusively on Peacock starting Feb. 24. Directed by Gerard Johnstone and produced by Jason Blum (“Get Out,” “BlacKkKlansman”) and James Wan (“Saw,” “Insidious,” “The Conjuring”), the film stars Alison Williams as Gemma, a brilliant toy company roboticist who creates a lifelike doll programmed with artificial intelligence to be a child’s greatest companion. But things take a tragic turn when Gemma becomes the unprepared caretaker of her newly orphaned niece and brings home the humanoid doll to keep her company.

Peacock has announced that it will begin streaming the sci-fi horror smash M3GAN from Blumhouse and Atomic Monster on February 24 — exactly three weeks ahead of its recently secured China release. The film’s PG-13 theatrical cut will be accompanied on the platform by an unrated version exclusive to Peacock.

In a turnabout, China is handing out release dates for Hollywood movies at a clip these days — and with a fair bit of notice. Yesterday, we learned that Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will go day-and-date on March 31, and today comes news that Universal/Blumhouse/Atomic Monster’s hit M3GAN has been granted a March 17 start. That’s about two months since the pic began overseas rollout and will see it face off with Warner Bros/New Line/DC’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods on March 17, that film timed to the domestic release.

The only new wide studio release this weekend is the Stage 6 and Screen Gems thriller Missing which collected $760K yesterday off of showtimes that began at 4PM at 2,650 locations. The movie, which is from the creatives behindSony’s micro-hit, Searching, is expected to do in the mid single digits off 3,000 theaters.

M3GAN star Violet McGraw confirmed Wednesday that she will reprise her role as orphan Katie in the sequel M3GAN 2.0, which Universal Pictures will release on January 17, 2025.The 11-year-old child star gushed on Instagram: 'It's happening! @meetm3gan 2.0!'It's no surprise considering director Gerard Johnstone's horror film amassed $95.3M at the global box office off a $12M budget, and the movie scored a 'certified fresh' 95% critic approval rating (out of 255 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes. Ready for more? M3GAN star Violet McGraw (R) confirmed Wednesday that she will reprise her role as orphan Katie in the sequel M3GAN 2.0, which Universal Pictures will release on January 17, 2025 The 11-year-old child star gushed on Instagram: 'It's happening! @meetm3gan 2.0!'Allison Williams will also be returning in her dual role as executive producer and robotics engineer Gemma in the creepy doll continuation.And while the time jump shouldn't affect Jenna Davis from providing the voice of the AI android also known as 'Model 3 Generative,' the girl behind the mask - Amie Donald - will probably grow out of the plum part.The 12-year-old competitive dancer from New Zealand was arguably a big part of why M3GAN became a beloved gay icon with her TikTok-worthy dance moves that made the trailer go viral ahead of the worldwide January 6 release.Amie impressively performed all of her own stunts under the guidance of movement coaches Jed Brophy and Luke Hawker as well as stunt coordinator Ike Hamon.

Listen, Universal Studios thought they had something special in “M3GAN,” but they certainly didn’t think it would open to over $30 million dollars with the historic blockbuster “Avatar: The Way of Water” still in the marketplace. And despite their conservative public estimates (high teens), even rival studios had it only in a low $20 million+ range.

The first weekend of any year at the box office is typically a weak one, but Avatar: The Way of Water and newcomer M3gan proved to be the exception to that rule.M3gan opened as the first new wide release for 2023, taking in a strong $30.2 million at the box office (via Deadline), just days after producer James Wan and director Gerard Johnstone hinted a M3gan sequel may be coming.Despite a strong debut, it could not dethrone director James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water, which won its fourth straight weekend with $45 million.  First 2023 movie: M3gan opened as the first new wide release for 2023, taking in a strong $30.2 million at the box office (via Deadline ), just days after producer James Wan and director Gerard Johnstone hinted a M3gan sequel may be coming  Blockbuster: Despite a strong debut, it could not dethrone director James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water, which won its fourth straight weekend with $45 millionAvatar: The Way of Water continues its blistering run, dropping just 33.2% in its fourth weekend, from a third weekend that saw a surprising 6.4% increase from the second weekend.The long-awaited sequel was added in 138 more theaters for a fourth-weekend theater count of 4,340, with a strong per-screen average of $10,368. The fourth-weekend haul pushed the blockbuster past the $500 million domestic threshold with $516.7 million, with the worldwide haul passing $1.7 billion.

EXCLUSIVE: James Wan has been labeled by fans for being responsible for killer doll movies, specifically his Conjuring franchise spinoff, Annabelle.

Hoping to take the sub-horror killer doll genre to new heights, producers James Wan and Jason Blum have teamed on what they hope to be a modern technology-infused combo somewhere along the lines of Annabelle meets The Terminator. Short of literally doing that, they have cooked up the latest Blumhouse fright picture, M3GAN, which for the most part follows a formula but shakes it up just enough to have strong appeal — especially for the teen-girl audience that gravitates to these PG13-safe kind of movies.

After scoring one of the decade’s great critical and commercial successes with Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” it’s no wonder that Blumhouse Productions doubled down on the low-budget “social thriller.” Their prevailing model that’s overtaken the genre has seen delights (“The Invisible Man,” “Nanny”) and duds (“The Hunt,” “They/Them”). What felt freshly reimagined in 2017 has become somewhat rote as screenwriters all but baked the inevitable think-pieces into the scripts themselves.

Allison Williams looked amazing Wednesday night as she and beau Alexander Dreymon walked their first red carpet together.The lovebirds, 34 and 39 respectively, put on a glitzy and loved-up display at the M3GAN movie premiere nearly one year after quietly welcoming a child.The German actor sweetly planted a kiss on the Girls alum's cheek during one sweet moment. Allison stars in the upcoming horror/sci-fi film, helmed by director Gerard Johnstone.

The Universal/Blumhouse/Atomic Monster genre film is going a week earlier on Jan. 6.

EJ Panaligan editor In the new trailer for “M3GAN,” an AI, childlike robot doll has a murderous taste for blood. The film comes from the esteemed horror production company Blumhouse, in close collaboration with horror maestro James Wan, who was notably behind the “Saw,” “Insidious” and “Conjuring” franchises. “M3GAN” stars Allison Williams as Gemma, a toy company roboticist who programs the artificial intelligence doll. Gemma tasks the doll with protecting her grieving niece Cady, played by Violet McGraw, who lost both of her parents in a car crash. While Cady and M3GAN hit it off initially, the doll’s brutal side takes over when Cady gets bullied by an insensitive boy. M3GAN seeks to protect her from physical harm. The trailer is soundtracked by Taylor Swift’s “It’s Nice to Have a Friend.”

If horror films have taught people anything, it’s never to trust a creepy doll. Often, they’ll come to life and murder you.

Universal, Blumhouse,  Atomic Monster and Divide/Conquer AI thriller M3GAN, starring Allison Williams, will hit theaters on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.

EXCLUSIVE: Violet McGraw has been added to the cast of M3GAN, the tech horror thriller from Blumhouse and Atomic Monster. The rising star,  who will soon make her Marvel debut as playing a young Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh) in Disney’s Scarlett Johansson-led Black Widow standalone, is joining previously announced star, Allison Williams.