“Five Nights at Freddy's” makes a killing with $78 million, becomes the biggest horror movie of 2023

Beware animatronic animals this Halloween: the murderous cast of  Five Nights at Freddy's is on the prowl after dominating the weekend box office.

The Blumhouse horror flick, which sees a troubled security guard (Josh Hutcherson) battling the killer mascots of an abandoned theme restaurant, is off to an epic start after breaking a slew of records with its opening weekend. The film topped the charts by debuting to $78 million domestically, per Comscore.

Despite its day-and-date release, with the film simultaneously premiering on Peacock, Freddy's snagged the biggest opening weekend for a horror title in 2023 and marks the second biggest for a movie based on a video game. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is still on top with a whopping $146.3M, but Freddy Fazbear and his gang have left a notable mark.

Universal Pictures Josh Hutcherson in Five Night's at Freddy's

Internationally, Freddy's earned $52.6 million for a global total of $130.6M. Based on the wildly popular games created by Scott Cawthon, the franchise boasts a built-in fanbase, especially amongst a younger viewing audience. The film from director Emma Tammi also stars Piper Rubio, Matthew Lillard, and Elizabeth Lail.

Though Freddy is topping the charts, Taylor Swift is still dazzling audiences in theaters across the world. The Eras Tour concert film picked up another $14 million for a new domestic total of $149.3M. Swift's strategy of keeping the concert film experience to weekends only has continued to draw in fans around the world, bringing the film to $203 million globally after just 3 weekends.

Meanwhile, in its second weekend of release, Martin Scorsese's epic retelling of the Osage Nation murders has earned $9 million, for a $40 million total ($88 million globally). Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and Jesse Plemons arrived to rave reviews and internationally, beat out Swift's concert movie for the second spot at the top.

Apple Original Films Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Faith-based documentary After Death, produced by the same company behind surprise box office hit Sound of Freedom, opened to $5 million. As promised by the title, the film explores what comes after death, using interviews with doctors, scientists, and near-death experience survivors to solve one of life's biggest mysteries.

Rounding out the top five is another horror entry from Blumhouse and Universal, The Exorcist: Believer which scared up an additional $3.1 million for a four-week total of $59.3 million ($61 million globally).

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