The Only Recap You Need Before M3GAN 2.0

"M3GAN 2.0" is set to hit theaters on June 27, 2025, just a few years after the doll danced its way into audience's hearts in early 2022. If you haven't seen "M3GAN" since it first came out, Looper's got you covered: this recap video covers everything you need to remember about the first movie, which introduced the doll named M3GAN (played by Amie Donald and voiced by Jenna Davis), her creator Gemma (Allison Williams, known for "Girls" and "Get Out"), and her "owner" and best friend Cady (Violet McGraw).

So why is "M3GAN" getting a sequel so soon after its release? The answer is simple: people just loved the first movie. Most importantly for Universal Pictures, though, the film was an unqualified financial success; according to BoxOfficeMojo, "M3GAN" was made with a modest budget of $12 million dollars and earned a frankly incredible haul of just under $182 million dollars when all was said and done. 

We'll circle back to the critical consensus in a moment, but the marketing for "M3GAN" was also, honestly, brilliant. Williams did an interview at the American Girl doll store in New York, videos of M3GAN dancing to "Walk The Night" by Skatt Bros basically took over social media for a while, and the trailer just generally got people really, really hyped for the film. When it did release in January of 2022, audiences got their first major "Gen Z horror icon," and critics also showed this campy, delightfully fun horror movie plenty of love.

Right here at Looper, "M3GAN" earned a rating of 7 out of 10 with our reviewer saying that the movie is "an entertaining black comedy with several fantastic set pieces" and that it "takes its silly premise seriously, which makes it even more enjoyably ridiculous." Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie earned an astonishing 93% average with a critical consensus that declares, "Unapologetically silly and all the more entertaining for it, 'M3GAN' is the rare horror-comedy that delivers chuckles as effortlessly as chills." 

"There's a different, far more substantial movie lurking within, yet the virtues of efficiency, clarity, surprise, and wit that enliven the one that's actually onscreen leave its merely implied substance tantalizingly unformed," Richard Brody raved in The New Yorker, and Jason Zinoman agreed in the New York Times: "While there are some hints at social commentary on how modern mothers and fathers use technology to outsource parenting, this movie is smart enough to never take itself too seriously." Over at TheWrap, William Bibbiani wrote, "Johnstone's film captures the same alchemical blend of heart, humor and havoc you find only rarely, in crossover classics like 'Gremlins,' and it yields more entertainment than most would-be blockbusters."

This is just a small sampling of the solid reviews, but you get it: "M3GAN" was a runaway success, and there's every reason to believe that "M3GAN 2.0" will follow in its footsteps both with critics and at the box office. Again, it releases on June 27, and you can watch the first movie on Starz or buy or rent it on major platforms.