Key Insights
- Box Office Performance: The theatrical distribution is rebounding with Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 achieving a $56 million opening.
- Comparative Success: This sequel’s opening is over $20 million lower than the first film’s debut in 2023.
- Competition: Zootopia 2 is projected to earn around $45 million this weekend, potentially surpassing Freddy.
- Anime Trends: Anime continues to thrive, with Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution expected to make $8–10 million.
In the wake of Warner Bros. and Netflix’s proposed merger (which is still far from a done deal), theatrical distribution is showing signs of life this weekend, with the notoriously slow post-Thanksgiving frame performing stronger than expected. This is largely due to the success of Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which is overcoming terrible reviews (including this one from our own Five Nights fanboy Mike Conway) for a strong $56 million opening, according to Deadline. While that makes it one of the biggest openings in Blumhouse history, it’s still off over $20 million from the $80 million the first movie earned in 2023, when it debuted day-and-date on streaming. The sequel is theatrical-only. Still, this is roughly $20 million higher than we predicted earlier this week.
Despite the major drop from the last film, the folks at Blumhouse are likely breathing a sigh of relief, as their slate this year—The Black Phone 2 aside—has been disastrous. Wolf Man and M3GAN 2.0 were both pricey box-office busts. With its budget kept low, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 should still deliver a sizable profit for the studio. That said, it might not take the top spot this weekend, as Zootopia 2 is still headed toward a $45 million weekend of its own, and family-friendly matinees may give it the edge over Freddy.
Anime is dominating again this weekend as well, with Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution (which our critic found largely incomprehensible) looking at an $8–10 million weekend. Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair—which is limited to two showtimes a day at most theaters due to its length—is also performing well, on track for $4 million across just 1,100 screens. There’s clearly money to be made in these limited-run re-releases, so expect more of them going forward.
We’ll be back tomorrow with a full box-office roundup. In the meantime, what are you planning to see this weekend? Let us know in the comments.
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