Want proof that sometimes all you need is a brand to sell tickets? Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) not only has the best Halloween opening in the history of cinema but is also the top horror movie of the year, pulling in $130.6 million.
As reported by Deadline, the critically panned film was an absolute barn burner at the box office, almost grabbing as much money as Oppenheimer did in the U.S. with its $78 million domestic opening. That’s also the second biggest opening ever for a video game movie, only behind the bonkers box office of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the highest opening ever of a PG-13 horror film.
In short, FNAF is a wild success despite opening day and date on Peacock, where audiences could stream it easily from home. Of course, that may say more about the Peacock subscriber base than people’s desire to see the movie in theaters as many of the 13-17-year-olds who drove ticket sales probably didn’t have subscriptions to NBC Universal’s streaming service.
That’s not to say the movie did poorly on the streaming side either. Peacock says Five Nights at Freddy’s was the streamer’s most-watched movie ever and drove more subscriptions than any other piece of content they have. That’s a pretty stellar claim for the streamer that has The Office on it.
FNAF, which stars Josh Hutcherson and was adapted from the ubiquitous horror game of the same name, has been universally trashed by critics, though it has an 88 percent audience score on RT. Clearly, fans of the series and folks looking for a somewhat teenage-friendly horror experience turned out for it.
What isn’t clear is if they’ll continue turning out for it. With fans seeing it this weekend, the film available to watch at home, Halloween passing, and the poor reception Five Nights at Freddy’s could see a massive drop next weekend. Still, we’re sure to see more as the move is already Blumhouse’s biggest opening ever, so the real question is what game it’ll be based off.
