'Soulm8te' delayed as universal reconsiders 'M3GAN' universe

Soulm8te, the planned spinoff of M3GAN, will no longer hit theaters on January 8, 2026.

With less than a month remaining until its scheduled release and no promotional campaign in sight, Universal has officially pulled the film from its release calendar. The studio is now expected to shop Soulm8te to other distributors.

The move follows the disappointing box office performance of M3GAN 2.0, which struggled over the summer after shifting away from the horror tone that made the original film a viral sensation in early 2023. 

The sequel earned $39.1 million worldwide, a sharp drop from the original M3GAN, which grossed $180 million globally.

Blumhouse founder Jason Blum previously acknowledged the studio misjudged audience expectations.

“We all thought Megan was like Superman. 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 classically over-thought how powerful people’s engagement was with her,” Blum said in an interview on The Town.

Very little footage from Soulm8te has been made public, though a trailer was screened privately at CinemaCon in April. The film stars Lily Sullivan as an AI-powered companion hired by a grieving man, played by David Rysdahl.

In the footage, Sullivan’s character delivers chilling lines such as, “Tell me you love me,” and, “Nobody will ever know you like I do.” 

In another moment, she asks, “Have I been a bad girl?” and later warns a rival, “Don’t try that girl-power shit with me.”

Soulm8te is directed by Kate Dolan, who also co-wrote the script based on a story by James Wan, Ingrid Bisu and Rafael Jordan.