Two years ago, Universal/Blumhouse’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s” proved that Gen Z hadn’t given up on moviegoing like some in Hollywood feared. They were just waiting for the right movie.
Popping a Blumhouse record $80 million opening weekend before tailing off quickly to a $137.2 million domestic run with $291.4 million worldwide, “FNAF,” as it is often called by its devoted fans, joined the likes of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and the “Sonic the Hedgehog” films in the wave of video game adaptations that have steadily taken over the blockbuster landscape.
Now the inevitable sequel, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” has arrived. And based on the box office trajectory of the first film, there couldn’t be a better release slot than this post-Thanksgiving weekend, one that is usually barren for wide releases due to the likelihood that any major film released here would get ignored by moviegoers between the Thanksgiving tentpoles preceding it and the Christmas blockbusters to come.
Driven by a fanbase that is heavily Gen Z with some younger millennials on the side, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” performed similarly to this past autumn’s anime record breaker “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle,” with a huge opening weekend but very short legs, as they both failed to reach a 2x multiple in the U.S.
Neither “FNAF” or “Demon Slayer” have four-quadrant appeal and were strictly for the fans. But that is no problem at all when A.) the fanbase is large and enthusiastic enough and B.) the studio isn’t spending a tentpole sum to get it on the big screen.
Compare this to “Furiosa: A Mad Max Story” or last month’s “Predator: Badlands,” high-budget films that were thoroughly enjoyed by fans who turned out in solid numbers on opening weekend but went ignored by the wider masses as the buzz from that relatively small fanbase failed to catch on.
So for a film like “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” which has roughly half the budget of “Predator: Badlands” at a reported $51 million, matching that sci-fi action film’s $40 million opening would be a solid win for Blumhouse. The studio could use another win, having suffered multiple flops for more than a year after the release of the first “FNAF” until snapping its losing streak in October with the $131.6 million global run of “Black Phone 2.”
Indeed, box office trackers are projecting a $40 million start for “FNAF2,” which unlike its predecessor will be released only in theaters instead of a simultaneous release on Peacock. But don’t be surprised if the film significantly overperforms that target with strong walk-ups from teens and college-age moviegoers and gets closer to the $80M of the first “FNAF.”
As the “Sonic” films have demonstrated, fans of a particular video game series will reward a faithful film adaptation with loyal turnout. While the Paramount series has drawn much of its growing grosses from families, the $60 million launch of “Sonic 3” last year was supported by nostalgic gamers who showed up for its pre-Xmas opening night while families showed up later once kids were out of school on holiday break.
As a PG-13 horror film — albeit one that serves as “Goosebumps”-esque gateway horror for minors — “Five Nights at Freddy’s” doesn’t have as wide a family appeal as “Sonic.” But it does have just as loyal a fanbase, and it is very possible that they turn out as strongly as they did in 2023 even if the novelty of seeing Freddy Fazbear on the big screen has worn off.
And since “FNAF” is as front-loaded as an anime film, Universal doesn’t have to worry too much about the film’s box office legs being cut short by Christmas films like “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Historically, the only wide releases that have taken the post-Thanksgiving slot tend to be holiday-themed ones like the Santa Claus as action hero comedy “Violent Night” in 2022.
Otherwise, the weekend is one that is usually dedicated to specialty releases. This year’s batch includes Bleecker Street’s “Downton Abbey” parody “Fackham Hall,” Sony Pictures Classics’ proshot of the Tony-winning Broadway revival of “Merrily We Roll Along,” and Lionsgate’s “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair,” a re-cut of Quentin Tarantino’s two-part revenge tale into a single 281-minute epic with new animated sequences.
But as “Godzilla Minus One” proved in 2023, early December can be a fruitful release slot for the right kind of film, and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” fits that bill. With “Wicked: For Good” still going strong into its third weekend, Universal should cap off 2025 on a high note this weekend.
