The cost of M3GAN 2.0 was heavy: SOULM8TE, which finished shooting, was frozen for months

A film's box office failure changed the fate of another film that hadn't yet been released within just a few days.

According to SOULM8TE director Kate Dolan's statements to TheWrap, the erotic sci-fi thriller had already been filmed by the time M3GAN 2.0 hit theaters, and the editing process was ongoing. Then came the box office results for the sequel. Universal halted post-production work on SOULM8TE.

Dolan stated that the future of the project changed completely in a very short time, and she didn't know whether the film would meet the audience for months.

The $39 million result changed all the plans

The first M3GAN had grossed over $180 million worldwide with a budget of around $12 million, paving the way for a new horror universe for Blumhouse and Atomic Monster.

However, M3GAN 2.0 could not replicate that success. The sequel, which shifted its genre from horror to action-comedy, only collected $39.1 million worldwide against its budget of approximately $25 million. Universal's cinema plans for SOULM8TE were also scrapped after this result.

According to Dolan, the decision was not just about changing the release date. The studio also suspended the post-production of the film, which was still in progress.

The director feared the film would be completely shelved

SOULM8TE was planned to be released in theaters in January 2026. Universal removed the film from its calendar in December and began marketing it to other studios and streaming platforms. At that time, it was uncertain whether the film would find a new distributor.

The uncertainty had started earlier for Dolan. The director explained that she was left with a finished film after the work on M3GAN 2.0 was halted, but she didn't know if she could complete it.

Thus, SOULM8TE faced another risk that has been increasingly seen in Hollywood in recent years: having completed filming no longer guarantees that a film will be released.

Editing was only completed in April 2026

It took months for the project to regain momentum. Dolan stated that she was only able to complete the final edit of SOULM8TE in April 2026.

Universal ultimately kept the film in-house instead of selling it to another company. However, the cinema plan was not reinstated. SOULM8TE premiered on August 1 on paid digital rental and purchase platforms. Universal also officially announced that the film would be available for digital sale months before it arrived on subscription services.

Thus, the film, initially prepared for theaters, faced the audience directly at home without ever entering the box office race.

The M3GAN connections were not removed from the film

After SOULM8TE was put on hold, rumors emerged that the film's ties to the M3GAN universe would be reduced or completely removed.

Dolan states that this did not happen. According to the director, while the references to M3GAN in the film were preserved, the story was designed to be independently watchable from the very beginning. Dolan had previously mentioned that there were several M3GAN references in the production, but the film could also be understood by an audience that had not seen the first installment.

Lily Sullivan stars as the AI android Sara, alongside David Rysdahl, Claudia Doumit, and Arty Froushan. The production combines the erotic thrillers of the 1980s and 90s with the fear of artificial intelligence.

SOULM8TE became the unseen casualty of M3GAN 2.0

It had been known for months that M3GAN 2.0 had failed at the box office. What was new was the insider account of how this failure directly reflected on another film nearing completion within the same universe for the first time.

SOULM8TE was not canceled before it was filmed. It was not a leftover idea from behind the camera. The film had been shot, editing had begun, and a release date had been set. Nevertheless, the $39 million box office of another production was enough to halt post-production and leave the film in uncertainty for months.

SOULM8TE eventually survived; however, it lost its chance in theaters. The true cost of M3GAN 2.0 includes not only its own box office result but also the eight-month crisis experienced by this film prepared for the same universe.