Mission accomplished. After years of anticipation, excited fans and an interesting marketing campaign, Five Nights at Freddy’s came to demonstrate its power at the global box office. Although it was a horror proposal released at the best time of the year (the Halloween season), not many analysts were sure how powerful the followers of the popular video game would be. After its first days on the billboard, one thing was clear: The new great horror film franchise has been born.
In the United States and Canada, The video game adaptation debuted with a whopping $78 million dollars (MDD). Although the industry expected between $50 and 60 million dollars, these are not such surprising numbers, since the pre-sale already pointed to a high premiere. Although his behavior was certainly frontloaded (it grossed half of its premiere on its first day), is not something out of the ordinary for the genre or for a long-awaited adaptation. Despite the terrible reception from critics (barely 26% approval in Rotten Tomatoes), the public was satisfied with what they saw. His A- in CinemaScore is a very high grade for the genre, not even films like It, Scream 6 or M3GAN They reached that rating.
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Before this weekend, many in the industry were wondering how much the film’s simultaneous release on Peacock could affect. Surely, If we had maintained exclusivity for theaters, we would be talking about a debut between $85-95 million, but the current results are not embarrassing at all. At this point, the Peacock effect is likely to be felt in the weekends to come: If many fans want to see the movie again, they will likely do so on the platform and not in the theater. If you follow the route of Black Widow (which was also released in streaming and with identical numbers), Five Nights at Freddy’s It could approach $170-180 million at the North American box office alone. With the good reception from the public, perhaps it could reach more.
Outside the United States, the euphoria of seeing Mike and the animatronics was also evident. 64 international territories contributed $52 million for a worldwide debut of $130 million. Its best markets were Mexico ($10.8 million), the United Kingdom ($6.3 million), Brazil ($3.9 million), Australia ($3.8 million) and Germany ($2.6 million). If everything goes well, and if piracy does not cause so much havoc, Five Nights at Freddy’s could end up between $320 – 350 million at the global box office, on par with several films from the universe The spell.
Considering that its production budget was just $20 million, The film is already absolutely profitable. Depending on how many times it manages to multiply its cost, it could well be one of the most successful films of 2023.
Five Nights at Freddy’s and its box office records
Just over 100 hours were enough for this horror film to already have numerous and important brands.
Domestically (United States and Canada)
- Best premiere in history for Blumhouse, its production company (exceeds Halloween’s $76 million in 2018).
- Best debut in history for a film released on the weekend of Halloween.
- Best opening for a horror film in 2023 (above Scream 6 with $44 million).
- Third best opening of all time for a horror film (behind Item and It: Chapter two).
- Second-best opening (full weekend) for a movie based on video games (behind Super Mario Bros: The Movie and its $146 million).
- Its opening day ($39 million) is the best in history for a film based on video games.
- Second best debut for a film that arrives simultaneously in theaters and streaming (exceeds her Black Widow with $80 million).
- Fifth best opening for a solo female-directed film (behind Barbie, Wonder Woman, Fifty Shades of Gray and Black Widow).
- Best opening for a PG-13 horror film (beat The Mummy returns and its $68.1 million).
- Best opening for a horror film directed by a woman (above Candymanwith $22 million in 2021).
Outside North America
- With $130 million in its global premiere, Five Nights at Freddy’s is the best premiere of the year for the genre (it surpassed the $88.1 million of The nun 2).
- It is also the best worldwide opening for a Blumhouse film (Halloween, of 2018, held the record with $91.8 million).
- It holds the record for the best opening day for a horror film in Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
- As far as full weekends for a horror movie go, it’s the best ever in Peru, Chile, Poland, Ukraine and Finland.
- Biggest debut for a horror film during 2023 in Mexico (above The nun 2), United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Norway, among others.
- In Mexico it is one of the 5 best premieres of all time for a horror film
Without a doubt, this is a breath of fresh air for exhibition chains around the world, since outside of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, no October release performed as expected. Just as an example, Five Nights at Freddy’s surpassed in 4 days The Exorcist: Believersalso from Universal.
You might also be interested in: Five Nights at Freddy’s – Lore and guide to animatronic characters.
Unfortunately, there is also a slightly worrying fact. Yeah The Marvels opens as low as its first projections indicate, the prequel to The Hunger Games does not connect with the casual public, or if Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom becomes another failure for DC, this could be the last debut of 2023 above $75 million in the United States. Will there be any surprise successes in the final months of the year?
If you contributed to the bulging box office of Five Nights at Freddy’sWere you happy with the film?
Juan Jose Cruz I am one of those who always defended Robert Pattinson as Batman and can see the same movie in the cinema up to 7 times. My guilty taste? Low-budget horror films.