Meta, Blumhouse embrace second screen movie experience with 'M3GAN'

Ever find yourself watching a movie while also scrolling on your phone? Guilty is charged and Hollywood is starting to lean into those two-screen habits

Whether or not you celebrate half birthdays or have holidays, Blumhouse does

To mark its 15-year anniversary, the studio behind Meghan, Annabelle, and Ma is celebrating with a halfway to Halloween campaign

All three films will soon return to theaters for one night only screenings, and this time Megan comes with a tech twist

Blumhouse is teaming up with Meta to debut Movie Mate, a second screen experience that lets you chat with an AI Megan during the film and unlock behind the scenes information in real time

According to a media release as Variety reports, the entire experience is designed to leverage Meta's capabilities to augment and up-level the second screen viewing experience

aimed at generating excitement ahead of the release of Megan 2.0 on June 27th

But not everyone is a fan One person called it nightmare fuel adding nobody over the age of 20 wants this While another wrote allowing a bunch of morons to use their phone during screenings is sure to stop movie theaters from dying out They then entered a tone tag to

indicate sarcasm and continue with, they found a way to make going to a theater even less appealing

The push for second screen experiences is part of a growing trend. Entertainment executives are

trying to keep up with growing shorter attention spans and our phones. In a report from Fortune last

December, Netflix's new chief product officer Eunice Kim says the platform is embracing second screens too

Think getting a push notification to explain a shocking finale after you finish watching

or voting for your favorite contestant while watching a competition show. The goal is to make the experience more interactive and to keep you engaged even if you're looking down

According to Variety, Meta says this tech is meant to bring people back to theaters

Either way, the future of movie night might look a lot different soon

The halfway to Halloween screenings kick off nationwide with Meghan First on April 30th

With Straight Arrow News, I'm Kennedy Felton. Download our app or visit san.com for more