Watch out, Mario, there’s another video game character hitting the big screen.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s,” the popular survival horror video game from 2014, is coming to theaters (and Peacock) just in time for Halloween. The movie picked up $10.3 million at the box office in Thursday previews.
The original video game spawned multiple sequels and spinoffs that have been hits with gamers and teens. The movie version, from Universal and Blumhourse, is aiming to capitalize on the “Freddy’s” fervor and open with $50 million this weekend, though some predictions put it even higher. It’s on track to nab the year’s highest opening for a horror movie, beating returning franchises like “Scream VI” ($44.4 million), “The Nun II” ($32 million), “The Exorcist: Believer” ($26.4 million) and Blumhouse’s own original “M3GAN” ($30 million).
Josh Hutcherson stars as Mike Schmidt, a new security guard tasked with watching over Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, basically a creepy ripoff of Chuck E. Cheese. However, it becomes clear that the spooky animatronic animals have a mind of their own and are out for blood after midnight. The cast also includes Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard and Mary Stuart Masterson.
“Five Nights at Freddy’s” is also available to stream on Peacock beginning on Friday. The day-and-day release strategy worked previously for Universal’s “Halloween Kills” and “Halloween Ends,” which opened with $49 million and $40 million respectively. The simultaneous release won’t stop “Freddy’s” from topping the box office charts. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” will battle for second place. Swift’s concert movie aims to add $13 million to $15 million in its third weekend, and Martin Scorsese’s historical drama is expected to make $11 million to $13 million in its sophomore week.
