Five Nights at Freddy’s, proved to be a box office sensation, raking in a staggering $78 million in North America and an impressive $130 million globally during its debut.
For a horror flick with a modest $20 million budget that also premiered on the streaming platform Peacock, these numbers are nothing short of remarkable. To put it in perspective, Five Nights at Freddy’s outpaced the entire worldwide earnings of 2022’s Halloween Ends ($104 million) in just three days. Five Nights at Freddy’s is a game adaptation, indicating a significant shift in the industry. Every studio should be taking note. This can be a game-changer, and another clear blueprint, for event-level horror films game adaptations,” says Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.
According to Variety, the project has been in development since 2015, and Blumhouse’s involvement finally brought it to fruition. The film’s PG-13 rating and its Halloween release timing seem to have worked in its favor. Second-best opening weekend for a day-and-date streaming release, following Disney’s 2021 Marvel adventure Black Widow ($80 million in theaters and $60 million on Disney+ and became the biggest horror opening of 2023, ahead of The Nun II ($88.1 million)
Audiences have responded enthusiastically to the film (which landed an A- CinemaScore), unlike unimpressed critics (it has a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes). However, that kind of discrepancy usually doesn’t matter for the horror genre. Regardless, the film has already joined the ranks of the year’s highest-grossing horror films, alongside M3GAN ($95 million), and Scream VI ($108 million).
Beyond its box office success, the film has become a major attraction on Peacock, though it should be noted that Peacock has a smaller subscriber base compared to streaming giants like Disney+ and Netflix. With Five Nights at Freddy’s, it didn’t appear to stop too many fans from buying tickets and making it a blockbuster.
