M3GAN 2.0 Flopped in Theaters — Now It’s Halloween’s Most-Watched Horror

Turns out the killer doll plays better on the couch than at the box office. While plenty of people skipped M3GAN 2.0 in theaters, they are absolutely queuing it up at home for spooky season.

Nielsen's early-October scoreboard

Nielsen dropped its Halloween viewing breakdown and highlighted what folks are streaming as October gets rolling. For the first week of the month (October 1–7, 2025), M3GAN 2.0 sits on top of the movie chart with 115 million minutes watched. That is the week-one crown, and honestly, a very on-brand October move from everyone catching up on horror they missed.

• M3GAN 2.0: No. 1 with 115 million minutes from Oct 1–7
• Scream (1996): No. 2, just 2 million minutes behind the doll
• Bring Her Back (2025): No. 3, 22 million minutes behind M3GAN 2.0
• 28 Years Later (2025): No. 4
• Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1968): No. 5, a creepier-than-you-remember classic making a timely climb
• Slender Man
• Tremors
• Sinners
• Halloween (2018)
• The Intruder

The gap between box office and the couch

This is one of those fun disconnects. The original M3GAN was a legit hit, pulling in more than $181 million worldwide. The sequel? Not so much, with a global take just over $39 million. But in October, streaming behaves like a vibe check, not a referendum. People want familiar Halloween energy and easy catch-ups, so the murderous robot toy becomes appointment viewing again.

What it means (besides more M3GAN memes)

If you were wondering whether the brand still has juice, the answer looks like a yes on streaming. That bodes well for the next step in the universe: the spin-off, titled SOULM8TE, which is set for 2026. If M3GAN 2.0 keeps pulling in fresh eyeballs at home, the ripple effect could help the spin-off out of the gate.

Bottom line: the top 10 is a solid at-home Halloween starter pack, but the headline is the obvious one. M3GAN may not have ruled the multiplex this year, but in your living room, she is queen of the season.