“M3gan” beats box office predictions, leading in the top two spot for films released. A large part of the film’s success must be credited to the brilliant screenwriter, who helped bring the movie to life. Read more about Akela Cooper’s involvement in the box office hit and her countless cinema contributions.

The viral dance sequence already had fans intrigued to see the film. It looks like the clip that sent social media in a frenzy worked out in “M3gan’s” favor. The PG-13 horror film costs $12 million to make and brought in $30.2 million in ticket sales, behind “Avatar: The Way of Water,” with $45 million.

The film description:

M3gan is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a lifelike doll that’s programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by Gemma, a brilliant roboticist, M3GAN can listen, watch and learn as it plays the role of friend and teacher, playmate and protector. When Gemma becomes the unexpected caretaker of her 8-year-old niece, she decides to give the girl an M3GAN prototype, a decision that leads to unimaginable consequences.

The instant hit horror film from Universal and Blumhouse was written by Cooper. Prodcuers Jason Blum and James Wan looked to Cooper as an ideal pick to flesh out the premise for “M3gan.” Wan turned to the storyteller, who has written episodes from Marvel’s “Luke Cage,” “American Horror Story” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” because he knew the film needed a strong female perspective and Cooper was the perfect fit.

“What I’ve learned from Annabelle is how beloved she is by girls,” Wan shared in a statement posted by the Wilson Morales Film account on Instagram. “We knew that this part of the horror audience is very important to us, so we needed to have a feminine energy and perspective with M3GAN. Akela’s so smart, savvy and good at structure; she knew exactly the movie that I wanted to make. She is not afraid to push things that others might deem ridiculous or over-the-top. She understands that you must lean into concepts that might be a bit more far-fetched to stand out from the crop of recent horror films.”

“M3gan” is Cooper’s first screenplay for Wan’s Atomic Monster, but she would go on to write 2021’s “Malignant” for Wan as well as “The Nun 2.” Cooper recalls her first meeting with Atomic Monster.

“We were all just horror fans,” Cooper says. “They said, ‘Do you want to take a crack at this idea?’ and they liked my take. That got me in the door, and that led us to this fruitful relationship.”

Cooper is one of the few Black women writing horror. She is happily opening doors for other Black women writers in the genre.

“A few years ago, I was on a horror panel at the Austin Film Festival,” Cooper shared. “There were several Black women in the front row. I was introduced as the writer of Malignant and Nun 2. Afterward, they came up and said, ‘We didn’t know Black women could write horror.’ I told them, ‘We can write anything.’”

Cooper was a staff writer for “Grimm” for two seasons and went on to be a writer and co-producer for “The 100,” “American Horror Story,” “Luke Cage,” “Jupiter’s Legacy,” “Witches of East End,” and “Chambers.”

Be sure to check out more from the talented screenwriter. “M3gan” is currently killing it at the box office and available to watch in theaters now.