Another weekend, another boatload of cash collected by Five Nights at Freddy’s. Universal and Blumhouse’s adaptation of the very popular video game series has, thus far, proved to be just as popular as a budding cinematic franchise as the long-awaited movie crossed a major box office milestone over the weekend. The film has now earned more than $250 million worldwide, which makes it one of the biggest movies of the year.
In its most recent weekend, Freddy’s pulled in $8.9 million domestically, which is pretty damn good for a third weekend - especially considering heavy competition from The Marvels. Not to mention that director Emma Tammi’s video game adaptation has been streaming on Peacock since the day it hit theaters, meaning people can watch it very easily from the comfort of home. And lots of people have watched it at home. Even so, moviegoers en masse are choosing to go see it in theaters anyway. To date, the film has earned $127.2 million domestically and $125.1 million internationally for a running total of $252.3 million.
The fact that the movie carries a very reasonable $20 million budget means it has already been a very, very profitable venture for all involved. As it stands, it is the 24th highest-grossing movie of 2023 overall, just below The Flash ($266.5 million). It is very likely to pass The Nun II ($268 million) to become the biggest horror movie of the year. There is almost no doubt we will be hearing official word about a sequel sooner rather than later - if not more than one sequel.
Luckily, there is no shortage of lore for Blumhouse to pull from. The game has several sequels and spin-offs to look to for inspiration, and creator Scott Cawthon was directly involved in crafting the adaptation. He will undoubtedly be there to help steer the ship as things progress from here on out. The official synopsis for the film reads as follows:
The film follows Mike (Josh Hutcherson) a troubled young man caring for his 10-year-old sister Abby (Piper Rubio), and haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his younger brother more than a decade before. Recently fired and desperate for work so that he can keep custody of Abby, Mike agrees to take a position as a night security guard at an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. But Mike soon discovers that nothing at Freddy’s is what it seems. With the aid of Vanessa, a local police officer (Elizabeth Lail), Mike’s nights at Freddy’s will lead him into unexplainable encounters with the supernatural and drag him into the black heart of an unspeakable nightmare.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is in theaters and streaming now on Peacock.
