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You can’t keep a masked killer down, and horror movies themselves are much the same. The genre is famously, reliably profitable thanks to a long tradition of low-budget films that rake in very high yields, and one of Hollywood’s biggest horror-specific companies—Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, which joined forces in 2024—is tasting that sweet success after starting the year off with a major disappointment.
That letdown was, of course, M3GAN 2.0, a seemingly sure thing after the success of 2022’s breakout first film, which earned over $180 million off its $12 million budget. Unfortunately, audiences didn’t embrace the sequel in the same way; while it was still profitable, it was far less so—and its box-office bummer was likely a big reason why Soulm8te, a spin-off described as a ’90s-style erotic thriller, was recently taken off Universal’s release calendar for 2026.
But as it turns out, one M3GAN misfire wasn’t enough to prevent Blumhouse and Atomic Monster from reaching quite the milestone this year: according to Deadline, taken together, “all eight of their productions have grossed $1.022 billion at the global box office” this year, “off of combined production costs of $204M before P&A [advertising].”
Those eye-popping numbers owe a lot to The Conjuring: Last Rites, the highest-grossing entry yet in that series. While it was positioned as the final film in the series, its success sparked talk of a prequel Conjuring film on the way.
Other major 2025 successes have included Black Phone 2 as well as Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. Given that, you can assume Blumhouse and Atomic Monster certainly won’t be shy about staying in the sequel business… even if M3GAN 2.0 ended up underperforming.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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Source: Gizmodo