Emma Tammi’s Five Nights at Freddy’s seemed primed to be a hit, the only question was: how big of a hit would it be? Fans of the video game series upon which Tammi’s film is based were frothing at the mouth to see Freddy Fazbear and his animatronic pals on the big screen, but would the film’s simultaneous premiere on Peacock impact its earning potential at the box office? Would the film’s PG-13 rating dissuade hardcore horror nerds from showing up?
These questions loomed large as we headed into the weekend, but now that the dust has settled it’s clear that nothing could have derailed the Five Nights at Freddy’s train. Not only did Tammi’s film overperform on its projections, but it also broke a number of Blumhouse’s own in-house records…and at least one major industry record.
With $133M in tickets sold worldwide, Five Night’s at Freddy’s is now officially the biggest Blumhouse global opening ever, beating out Halloween‘s $91.8M take. It’s also Blumhouse’s biggest opening weekend in the States, with Freddy’s $80M haul also topping previous record-holder Halloween (which had a $76M opening back in 2018).
But wait – there’s more: Five Nights at Freddy’s also marks the biggest opening ever for a horror film directed by a woman, and the highest opening weekend for a PG-13 horror film (besting The Mummy Returns’ $69M opening). People showed up to see this one in massive numbers, and nevermind that they could’ve stayed home and watched it on streaming. Fans clearly wanted the communal, theatrical experience on this one.
So what does this mean for the future of Five Nights at Freddy’s? While we can’t say anything for certain as of this writing, it seems all but guaranteed that a sequel will be announced sooner rather than later. Stay tuned for further updates on that as they roll in, but don’t expect to wait to long for ’em.
