Five Nights At Freddy's Rakes in Big Bucks on Thursday Night

Summary

The box office success of the Five Nights at Freddy's movie, which is inspired by the popular video game series, is remarkable. It generated an impressive $10.3 million during its opening night previews, coming close to the preview gross of $10.5 million earned by Oppenheimer.

The film depicts the story of a nocturnal security guard battling killer animatronics to rescue his younger sister, making it the third highest-grossing preview night for any October release in domestic box office records, coming in behind Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Joker.

The horror movie "Five Nights at Freddy's" has achieved impressive box office numbers, comparable to the success of the hit film "Oppenheimer." Based on the popular video game franchise created by Scott Cawthon, the film tells the story of Mike, a nighttime security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. When the restaurant's animatronics come to life with murderous intentions after midnight, Mike must protect his younger sister Abby. According to Deadline, the opening previews of "Five Nights at Freddy's" garnered a strong box office result, earning $10.3 million on Thursday night. Although slightly below the Thursday gross of "Oppenheimer," which brought in $10.5 million, this makes it the third-best preview night for an October movie in domestic box office history, behind "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" ($11.6 million) and "Joker" ($13.3 million).

Five Nights at Freddy's Will Still Have Some Huge Hurdles to Overcome

The Five Nights at Freddy's movie has received positive projections. It is expected to earn between $50 and $70 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office. However, if it is able to replicate Oppenheimer's success, it could potentially earn as much as $80 million or more. Yet, the movie faces several challenges if it aims to maintain its box office success, similar to the Christopher Nolan biopic. The biopic benefited from opening alongside Greta Gerwig's Barbie and sparking the viral "Barbenheimer" double feature trend.

Five Nights at Freddy's faces several challenges. Firstly, it was simultaneously released on Peacock and in theaters, posing a threat to its theatrical profits. This is particularly concerning due to the ongoing Screen Actors Guild strike, which is advocating for fair pay. As a result of the strike, actors from Five Nights at Freddy's are refraining from promoting the film, potentially impacting its box office success.

Furthermore, Five Nights at Freddy's benefits from being the sole new horror film released in theaters the weekend before Halloween, which boosts its opening weekend performance. However, it remains uncertain whether the heightened interest in horror during this holiday will carry over to its second weekend in early November. Nevertheless, the initial box office results indicate promise, and there is still potential for the film to exceed expectations as the weekend progresses.

Source: Deadline