‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Dominates Domestic Box Office with Record-breaking Horror Debut in 2023

The Big Picture

Despite negative critical reception, Universal's Five Nights at Freddy's has surpassed all expectations, shattering Halloween records and emerging as the biggest horror opener of the year with an astounding estimated debut weekend box office collection of $78 million.

The Eras Tour concert film by Taylor Swift has achieved great success by surpassing $150 million domestically, making it the highest-grossing concert movie ever. It is worth noting that this film was distributed directly by theater chains, without involving any studio.

On the other hand, Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon has faced challenges at the box office, with only approximately $10 million earned in its second weekend. However, there is optimism for its long-term success, taking into consideration the impressive track record of Scorsese's previous films.

Universal's Five Nights at Freddy's is attracting a significantly larger young audience than anticipated during its first weekend in theaters. With a staggering $40 million in earnings on its opening day, the horror video game adaptation is expected to generate around $78 million over the course of its debut weekend. This impressive figure sets a new record for Halloween releases and surpasses all other horror film openings this year by a wide margin. Remarkably, these accomplishments have been achieved despite the film being available for streaming on the Peacock platform simultaneously with its theatrical release.

By becoming the highest-grossing opening in Blumhouse's history, Five Nights at Freddy's has outperformed previous hits from the renowned horror production company, including Insidious, The Purge, and most recently, the Halloween reboot trilogy. This achievement is particularly significant for Blumhouse, as their previous attempt at establishing a trilogy with The Exorcist: Believer fell short, barely accumulating $60 million in ticket sales after more than three weeks since its release.

There Was Something for Everyone at the Movies This Weekend

received mostly negative critical reception, much like Believer. Our website's Chase Hutchinson described it as a "horrifyingly robotic video game adaptation" in his review. The film currently holds a "rotten" 25% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the audience response has been incredibly positive. Opening day crowds gave Five Nights at Freddy's an A- CinemaScore, which is highly unusual for a horror title.

Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour concert film has slipped to the number two spot after dominating the box office for two weekends. In its third weekend, the film is projected to earn just under $15 million, pushing its domestic total past the impressive $150 million milestone. What sets The Eras Tour apart is its unconventional approach: produced with a modest budget of approximately $15 million, the film was distributed directly by theater chains, bypassing the involvement of a studio. Furthermore, it has a unique screening schedule, only playing from Thursday to Sunday for three weekends before embarking on its international release in remaining markets. As it continues to captivate audiences worldwide, the film is expected to surpass the $200 million mark, solidifying its position as the highest-grossing concert movie of all time.

Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon dropped to the number three spot this weekend, sliding down from its number two debut. Despite its massive reported price tag of $200 million, the epic revisionist Western is only expected to make around $10 million this weekend, which is not very promising. The film's domestic total has yet to surpass the $50 million mark, and it will need to hold strong in the coming weeks to stay afloat. However, it's worth noting that Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street only made $18 million in its opening weekend but went on to earn over $100 million domestically and $400 million worldwide.

After Death, the Angel Studios documentary, claimed the fourth spot with an estimated $5 million in its debut weekend. Meanwhile, The Exorcist: Believer held onto the fifth spot, adding a little over $3 million to its running domestic total, which now stands just under $60 million. With the film now available on PVOD platforms, its future looks uncertain. Universal will have to decide if they need to make any changes to the franchise going forward, especially since a direct sequel is already scheduled for 2025. Stay tuned to Our website for more updates.