Uncontent with merely turning Facebook and Instagram into right-wing hellscapes of AI slop, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now actively rallying theatergoers to pull out their glowingly annoying smartphones when they're at the movies.
As Variety reports, Meta is teaming up with the horror film studio Blumhouse to bring the "second screen" experience to its single-night re-release of "M3GAN" on April 30.
Dubbed "Halfway to Halloween," the production company's limited engagement will also include "Annabelle" and "Ma," two of its other big hits — but it's clear that "M3GAN," with its hotly anticipated upcoming sequel, is the star of the show.
Using chatbot technology that Meta refers to as "Movie Mate" — a new spin, perhaps, on Zuckerberg's cringey push to get his subordinates to refer to each other as "Meta Mates" back when he was all-in on virtual reality — fans will be able to talk to an AI version of the iconic robot.
There is, however, a catch.
"Movie Mate is only available to moviegoers who are in a theater," the studio explained in a statement provided to Variety, "and works by DM'ing the Instagram account @M3GAN account to start the experience."
When we asked Meta how this location-specific gambit works, a company spokesperson told Futurism that a "code will be displayed on the movie screen prior to the trailers" to verify that users are in the theater, and they would subsequently be provided with instructions on how to initiate the DM convo. Though that's better than using some sort of creepy geofencing, it also sounds like it requires a non-minimal amount of effort — which equals, of course, more light pollution inside dark theaters packed with patrons for the single-night screenings.
Beyond the "M3GAN" chatbot, the promotion will also include more traditional marketing incentives like "sneak peeks, exclusive recorded messages from directors and talent from the films, and surprise special appearances in select markets," Blumhouse said in its statement.
Amid this desperate attempt to make Meta relevant post-Metaverse, many folks are not thrilled at the thought of studios intentionally and actively encouraging people to ruin the movie theater experience.
"I feel like M3GAN would actually kill moviegoers who used [Movie Mate]," one Bluesky user quipped.
"It's feeling like we've lost the fight on this one," Bloody Disgusting editor-in-chief John Squires tweeted, "and the next generation of the theater-going experience will be tailored to the youth and the way they consume movies, which is very different than the way most of us do."
"Hollywood will likely lean in," he continued. "And maybe they have to."
In response to the news, the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain confirmed to Variety that it won't be participating in the monstrous "Movie Mate" campaign — though, to be fair, that decision could be an attempt to gain back goodwill from pro-labor cinephiles who boycotted during a recently-ended strike protesting layoffs.
Though Meta is far from the first company to attempt this kind of ghoulish "second screen marketing," bringing it to theaters — and to a single-night engagement in particular — is indeed horrific.
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