Soulm8te dropped from release calendar: Is the failure of M3GAN 2.0 to blame?
Deadline reports that Soulm8te, the erotic sci-fi thriller previously billed as part of the M3GAN universe, has been quietly pulled from the release calendar. The film had been set for a January 9, 2026 debut—a date that has since been claimed by Primate—but Blumhouse and Atomic Monster are now reportedly shopping the project to other distributors. For now, there’s no indication of where the film might ultimately land.
Is The Failure of M3GAN 2.0 to Blame?
M3GAN was a surprising success upon its release in 2023. Audiences loved the creepy artificial intelligence doll who just wanted to protect her human companion, at any cost. The film grossed over $180 million worldwide, and a sequel was quickly developed. Unfortunately, M3GAN 2.0 fell short in a significant way, with a genre shift that alienated fans of the original. The film grossed just $39 million worldwide. Had it succeeded, you would imagine that Blumhouse and Atomic Monster would have hung onto Soulm8te.
Jason Blum admitted that they misinterpreted what audiences truly wanted. “We all thought M3GAN was like Superman,” he said. “We could do anything to her: we could change genres, we could put her in the summer, we could make her look different, we could turn her from a bad guy into a good guy. And we kind of classically overthought how powerful people’s engagement was with her.“
What is Soulm8te About?
The film was directed by Kate Dolan (You Are Not My Mother) from a script she co-wrote with Rafael Jordan. Said to be inspired by the erotic thrillers of the ’90s, it follows a man who buys an artificially intelligent android to cope with the loss of his recently deceased wife. But in an attempt to create a truly sentient partner, he inadvertently turns a harmless lovebot into a deadly soulmate. Claudia Doumit, Lily Sullivan, Isabelle Bonfrer, Emma Ramos, and Sydney Blackburn star in the film.
JoBlo Saw a Soulm8te Preview at CinemaCon
JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray saw a preview for Soulm8te at CinemaCon. “Seems similar to Companion. Centers on a sexbot that becomes so obsessed with her ‘owner’ that she kills anyone close to him and goes on a murder spree,” he reported. “Looks more violent (and kinkier) than M3GAN but has the same humor. When a woman she’s about to kill says ‘Women aren’t supposed to be pitted against each other,’ she answers, ‘Don’t start that girl power shit with me.’“
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