The memes surrounding horror-comedy movie M3GAN changed the film and the way it was received by audiences, seemingly resulting in a box office boost. A breath of fresh air for the horror genre, M3GAN encapsulated humor at its creepiest. The marketing for the movie and its feedback from viewers and critics alike helped its originality and eventually spawned various funny videos, cementing its place as one of the most meme worthy films of the year so far.
M3GAN's surprisingly hilarious tone was certainly a contributing factor as to why it's being received so well. Other recent horror comedies such as Freaky have been great, but its post-pandemic release in the month of January gave reason to go to a movie theater and witness something quite unique for the genre. With M3GAN 2 now in its early stages, it's expected that the overwhelming praise for the first film could lead to a new successful horror franchise. Additionally, the M3GAN ending sets up for a sequel, and the effectiveness of its setup shows it's something that could be justifiable.
M3GAN's Memes Helped The Movie (& Make It More Of A Horror Comedy)
M3GAN leaned heavily into its surreal side, resulting in a series of memes and jokes based around the premise. This huge meme collection inadvertently created intrigue for the movie, encouraging people to watch it. It's great because it continues to bring people back to the movie theater, but M3GAN also adds gains extra comedic layers from these memes, making it the polar opposite of the jokes that followed the release of 2022's Morbius. The latter film suffered from its memes, largely in part to how the jokes were about its failures - but M3GAN's funny and dark tone managed to avoid this and inspired jokes that make the movie look intriguing.
Memes are occasionally used to mock something, but the ones that have been released leading up to and following M3GAN's premiere have been used to celebrate the film. Great marketing and edits featuring M3GAN's iconic hallway dancing scene to the tunes of artists Taylor Swift and Megan Thee Stallion display everyday people getting in on the fun and loving the idea of a random dancing life-size doll. These memes make the movie more comedic than an outright horror - but this may have encouraged audiences who don't usually have the stomach for horror to buy themselves tickets.
Why M3GAN's Meme Popularity Has Been So Good For The Movie
M3GAN's meme popularity has been great for the movie's success because it's bringing money to the box office in a month like January that typically doesn't include box-office hits, especially films that are as positively reviewed as M3GAN. It's a horror movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and features self-aware humor, and the hilarious videos include this aspect as well. Something unexpected like regular people dressing up as M3GAN and recreating her dance moves show how fun it is, and viral trends will always persuade someone to watch the movie or show that the meme is inspired by.
Ultimately, the memes about M3GAN are about a toy, and it's a reminder of the toys that children loved growing up with. The deeper themes of the film focus on this as well. But it also proves that horror comedies are a genre that works, and M3GAN continues promising horror trends that strongly suggest the franchise will become a mainstay in the movie industry. Killer toys have been done before, but they haven't been utilized quite like how M3GAN has. Because of the memes and the horror film's excellent feedback, M3GAN is already an unexpected success immediately after its release.