Freddy Fazbear and his gaggle of pizzeria party animals brought a welcome boost to the typically muted post-Thanksgiving box office.
Universal and Blumhouse’s PG-13 sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” based on the second installment in Scott Cawthon’s popular horror game franchise, took first place on Friday, debuting to $29.8 million from 3,412 North American theaters. That puts the film on track to gross $56.5 million domestically by Sunday, well past early projections of a $35 million to $40 million opening weekend.
The first “Five Nights at Freddy’s” launched to a stellar $80 million in 2023, a surprising result considering it simultaneously debuted in theaters and on Peacock. That film eventually reached sleeper hit status with a $300 million global tally, which points to healthy box office staying power for “Freddy’s 2.” The sequel boasts a slim price tag of $36 million, so it won’t take much to bring Universal and Blumhouse into the green.
Stars Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail and Piper Rubio are back for “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” which follows a former Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza night guard as he fights for his life against a cast of animatronic killers. Emma Tammi returned as director and Cawthon returned as screenwriter for the sequel. New cast members include McKenna Grace, Teo Briones, Freddy Carter and more.
The No. 2 slot this week went to another sequel starring a much friendlier group of anthropomorphic animals. Disney’s “Zootopia 2” took second with $10.2 million domestically on Friday. The film, which follows Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde as they investigate a mysterious reptile in their mammal-centric city, is expected to gross around $45 million by Sunday, representing a decline of roughly 55% from its $98 million debut last weekend over the traditional three-day frame.
Last week, over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday frame, “Zootopia 2” went nuclear with $559 million worldwide. The film cemented several records with that figure, including the fourth-largest worldwide debut in box office history (after “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home”), and the largest global launch of all time for an animated film.
Third place went to GKIDS’ “Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution,” which debuted to an estimated $4.9 million on Friday from 1,833 North American locations. The film cuts together portions of the “Jujutsu Kaisen” anime series and repackages them for a theatrical release. It’s expected to reach just over $10 million in the States by Sunday.
In fourth place is “Wicked: For Good,” which earned $4.5 million domestically on Friday. Jon M. Chu’s Ozian sequel looks to add $15.6 million this weekend. Total domestic gross is expected to reach $295.8 million through Sunday. At No. 5 was Quentin Tarantino’s super-sized “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair,” which combines “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” and “Vol. 2” into a four-and-a-half-hour action epic. The film grossed an estimated $1.4 million from 1,198 North American theaters. Domestic gross should hit $3 million by the end of the weekend.
