The horror adaptation Five Nights at Freddy’s is Blumhouse’s newest horror film release based on the popular video game franchise about a pizzeria security guard going up against four animatronic mascots on the hunt for anyone who stays past midnight. With some major Scream and Hunger Games talent like Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard starring in it, there’s bound to be a large audience watching this movie at home and in theaters. Already, though, Five Nights at Freddy’s (literally) killed it in theaters during its opening night.
Five Nights at Freddy’s has only been in theaters for one day, and it’s already crushing it at the box office. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 2023 movie release by Universal and Blumhouse killed it, earning $10.3 million in Thursday previews. This is around the same ballpark as It: Chapter Two which debuted at $10.5 million. It’s already ahead of horror films that premiered recently like the Halloween trilogy and Jordan Peele’s Us.
Deadline also reported that the Thursday night preview numbers broke a new record, as the film became the biggest opening for a movie that has a simultaneous streaming premiere date.
According to Boxoffice Pro, the new streaming release is expected to make $40-50 million on opening weekend. There are some good chances Five Nights at Freddy’s will meet these numbers as pre-sales have been exceeding expectations. With its PG-13 rating, teens and young adults (especially fans of the acclaimed video game) can have fun watching this movie as well as adults. Plus, Halloween is just around the corner. So, those who are too old to go door-to-door trick or treating can get a group of friends together to go see this movie.
On the other hand, there are some factors that can prevent Five Nights at Freddy’s from meeting the expected numbers. One is that early critical reviews calling the film a “sanitized” version of its video game isn’t the best way to bring good press to a newly released movie. But with this falling into the horror genre, fans seem to care more about audience reception compared to the critics' thoughts. Right now, the Rotten Tomatoes critical rating is at 25%. But, the audience rating is at a high 88%. This could mean that audiences will ignore the critics and see for themselves what Five Nights at Freddy’s is really like.
Then, there’s also the added factor that more people could be watching the horror video game adaptation at home on Peacock instead of in theaters. By the end of the weekend, we’ll have to see just how successful Blumhouse’s newest movie is in theaters, and how its streaming release impacts its box office performance.
Thursday night numbers show that Five Nights at Freddy’s is off to a great start. We’ll see in the next couple of days if this newly released horror film will keep it up. You can watch the Josh Hutcherson-led movie in theaters or with a Peacock subscription now.
