Don't put your phone away: M3GAN, Annabelle, & Ma heading back to theaters with Meta's second-screen tech Movie Mate (2025)

Last Updated on April 14, 2025

Blumhouse’s annual Halfway to Halloween Film Festival will kick off at the end of the month. The studio will be bringing M3GAN, Annabelle, and Ma back to theaters nationwide for one night only over three consecutive weeks. Blumhouse is also joining forces with Meta’s second-screen experience, Movie Mate, to give the festival a high-tech twist. That’s right, you don’t have to put your phone away this time.

“The question we always ask ourselves is why can’t every day be Halloween? So Halfway to Halloween brings us one step closer, and I couldn’t be happier that this year we are going nationwide,” said Jason Blum, Founder and CEO, Blumhouse. “In that same spirit of trying new things, we’re excited to give M3GAN fans an all-new experience in theaters from the team from Meta.“

Fans will be able to interact with the M3GAN chatbot during the screening, which will send them “never-before-seen content, trivia, and behind-the-scenes info on the film in real time.” The screenings are also expected to include “sneak peeks, exclusive recorded messages from directors and talent from the films, and surprise special appearances in select markets.“

“We are excited to continue our longstanding history of innovation in the theatrical space with our friends at Universal Pictures,” said Omar Zayat, Group Lead Entertainment, Tech, Travel & Gaming, and Auto at Meta. “The M3GAN in-theatre Movie Mate is a first-to-market moviegoer experience. We are happy to introduce filmgoers to it by way of Instagram Direct and Click-to-Messenger Ads. We are thrilled to be working with Universal Pictures and Blumhouse to deliver rich experiences designed to get audiences back into theatres.“

Tickets are now on sale for the following films and dates:

• April 30th – M3GAN
• May 7th – Annabelle
• May 14th – MA

According to the press release, “Movie Mate is only available to moviegoers who are in a theater, and works by DM’ing the Instagram account @M3GAN account to start the experience. The entire experience is designed to leverage Meta’s capabilities to augment and uplevel the “second screen” viewing experience aimed at generating excitement ahead of the release of M3GAN 2.0 on June 27.” I’m not someone who pulls out their phone at the theater under any circumstances, so this isn’t for me. But sadly, we all know there are plenty of folks who just can’t help themselves, so maybe this is the screening for them.