Last weekend, Five Nights at Freddy’s made an impressive debut, setting records and exceeding expectations. With numbers hovering between $50 million and $90 million, this video game adaptation has projected a remarkable $78 million opening. This figure is $13 million higher than the initial estimate on Thursday. It is worth noting that this film had a theatrical day and date release, meaning it was simultaneously available on the peacock streaming service, making its success even more remarkable.
Five Nights at Freddy’s PG13 rating places it in prestigious company as the second highest grossing opening for a video game movie, falling between The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($146.3 million) and Sonic The Hedgehog ($72 million). Furthermore, this film claims the title for the highest grossing opening ever for Halloween weekend. It also adds to Blumhouse’s impressive track record as it becomes their 19th number one opener, surpassing their typical budgets that rarely exceed $20 million.
The question arises: why is this movie performing exceptionally well? According to producer Jason Blum, the movie was made with the fans in mind. This is evident when analyzing the critical reception, which has been less favorable with a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Even our own Tyler Nichols, who was not familiar with the video game franchise, rated it a 4 out of 10. However, audiences have a different opinion, awarding the film a solid 89% audience score.
In light of Five Nights at Freddy’s success, Taylor Swift’s film falls to second place with an estimated weekend take of $16.5 million. Meanwhile, Killers of the Flower Moon is expected to see a 50% drop in its audience, making around $10-$11 million in its second weekend. The faith-based documentary, After Death, is also anticipated to have a strong debut with approximately $6 million in receipts.
What do you think of Five Nights at Freddy’s tremendous success? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for our full rundown of this weekend’s box office numbers.
