5 Reasons Why Five Nights At Freddy's 2 Defied Expectations At The Box Office

Freddy Fazbear is back on top. Despite some chatter that the sequel was in for a somewhat disappointing opening, "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" bested expectations by a considerable margin. While it couldn't match the $80 million opening of 2023's "Five Nights at Freddy's," it did more than well enough to declare this another big winner for Blumhouse and Universal Pictures.

Director Emma Tammi's "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" opened to $63 million domestically, which was good enough to take the top spot away from "Zootopia 2" following its gigantic Thanksgiving opening. The sequel also added $46.1 million internationally for a $109.1 million global start. The budget is said to be anywhere between $36 and $51 million. So, even at the top end of that range, this is a great start.

Prior to the release, tracking suggested that "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" would make $50 million on the high end. Clearly, though, those projections were rather modest and didn't account for the feverish fanbase that is devoted to this franchise. As a result, the film defied expectations and set a record for the biggest post-Thanksgiving opening ever. That's no small thing.

So, what went right here? How did this sequel manage to outperform projections? We're going to look at the biggest reasons why "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" ruled the box office on its opening weekend. Let's get into it.

The first "Five Nights at Freddy's" resonated in a big way with younger, Gen Z audiences despite not being well-liked by critics. Critical opinion can't always sway potential ticket buyers, but when the box office is as uncertain as it has been lately, it never helps when buzz is bad. However, "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" managed to become a bigger-than-expected success despite an utter lack of praise from the critical community.

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2" currently holds a dismal 12% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In stark contrast though, it holds an 88% audience rating. That's not dissimilar to the first movie (33% and 86%). The movie also earned a B CinemaScore, which is slightly down from the A- that the first movie received but still pretty decent for a horror movie. More importantly, what we're seeing is the target audience flatly and almost completely disagreeing with critics.

The "Five Nights at Freddy's" sequel picks up one year after the first movie, with stories about what happened at Freddy Fazbear's having transformed into local legend, leading to the first ever Fazfest. Abby (Piper Rubio) then sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, which sets a deadly series of events into motion. Josh Hutcherson (Mike), Elizabeth Lail (Vanessa), and Matthew Lillard (William Afton) also returned for the film.

In her review of "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" for /Film, BJ Colangelo called it a "bloated mess," arguing that fans "deserve better-tasting slop." By all appearances, however, audiences are happy enough with what was served up.

One does not get to an opening number so far above projections without running an effective marketing campaign. Blumhouse and Universal did precisely that with "Five Nights at Freddy's 2." For the average moviegoer who may have caught up with the first movie on streaming out of curiosity, the sequel was sold as a bigger, more carnage-filled slasher movie of sorts with impressive animatronic robots.

Hardcore fans, who have turned out in droves for both movies, were able to pick up on what was being teased in the trailers without those Easter eggs and reveals muddying the waters for the average Joe. The trailers made it clear that "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" was bringing in more characters from the games, including the Marionette. But these things weren't presented in a way that were isolating to those who weren't in the know.

Granted, those who haven't played the games may leave "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" feeling baffled, seeing as franchise creator Scott Cawthon also wrote the script and leaned heavily into the complex lore from the games. All the same, enough people were curious enough to check this out on opening weekend. The marketing did its job, even if the movie itself left more casual fans feeling a little out of the loop.

While the original "Five Nights at Freddy's" had a bigger opening weekend, it also arrived in October and was victim to a massive 76% fall on its second weekend, taking in less than $20 million. Competition also became an issue by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. In short, its run domestically was kneecapped a bit. All the same, it still managed to make nearly $300 million worldwide.

As it relates to "Five Nights at Freddy's 2," Universal picked a release date with upside on a longer timeline. It opened strong, but it now has the opportunity to leg out over the winter holiday stretch heading into 2026, whereas the first movie dropped like a rock after a monster opening. This could be more of a marathon than a sprint, basically.

This upcoming weekend sees almost no major competition, as the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" remake arrives alongside James L. Brooks' dramedy "Ella McKay." Those both figure to have muted debuts. Yes, "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" will have to take a backseat once "Avatar: Fire and Ash" arrives on December 19, but we've seen time and time again that the pre- and post-Christmas stretch can allow for more than one movie to thrive. It's set up for success beyond opening weekend, if all goes well.

For all of the film's wild success, the Peacock release loomed large over the first "Five Nights at Freddy's." Universal was hedging its bets and, with "Five Nights at Freddy's" being a PG-13 movie aimed at younger viewers, there was an assumption that making it available to stream from the comfort of home was best for the bottom line. Because the film made nearly $300 million against a mere $20 million budget, it was easy to sweep any criticism of that strategy under the rug at the time.

The Peacock release was even acknowledged by Blumhouse head Jason Blum earlier this year. "I know you're all disappointed the first movie was day and date on Peacock," Blum said at CinemaCon (via CinemaBlend). Blumhouse and Universal weren't content to make the same mistake twice. So, while the opening weekend number for the sequel was lower, as mentioned, the upside potential in the coming weeks is far higher for "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" as a result. If fans want to watch it, they'll have to go to theaters for at least a few weeks to do so.

In the last couple of years, Hollywood, by and large, seems to be turning on the idea of releasing big movies directly to streaming. 2025's "Lilo & Stitch" and "Final Destination Bloodlines" were both supposed to go direct-to-streaming, but they both made serious bank at the box office. The same can be said for "Moana 2" and "Alien: Romulus" back in 2024. Universal now fully understands the value in theatrical exclusivity for these in-demand releases.

Not that everything popular that gets turned into a movie ends up being a big success, but it's worth looking at just how big the audience for the "Five Nights at Freddy's" franchise is. The original video games have sold millions of copies dating back to the property's inception in 2014. More than that, the younger people who are making these movies into hits obsess over the surprisingly rich lore, watching YouTube videos and Twitch streams related to Fredd Fazbear and his animatronic pals.

"Five Nights at Freddy's" has a surprisingly complex canon to pull from, which is something Cawthon, Blumhouse, and Tammi have all leaned into. While the whole "We're making this one for the fans" motto doesn't always pan out, in this case, it has. Hollywood, for whatever reason, seems to have a tough time nailing down what is of interest to younger viewers these days. That's why the tracking for "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" was well behind the actual numbers. But this franchise is very clearly of great interest to Gen Z.

Making a movie based on a mega-hit brand, doing right by the hardcore fans of that thing, and connecting with that audience proved to be the recipe for success here. Everything else simply doesn't matter that much. This fanbase is highly motivated, and the "Five Nights at Freddy's" filmmakers have tapped into that quite well.

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2" is now playing in theaters.