Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Shows Hollywood 'It's Not Niche If It's No. 1'

"Arriving on a spot on the movies-release calendar long thought to be a financial dead zone for Hollywood, that tally comes with a few superlatives. It is a record-breaking post-Thanksgiving opening (slitting the throat of the previous titleholder, Tom Cruise's 2003 period epic, The Last Samurai), the second-largest horror opening of the year (behind the Blumhouse-Atomic Monster fourth franchise installment The Conjuring: Last Rites), and 2025's biggest PG-13 debut (putting the chomp on Predator: Badlands)."

"All of which is to say FNAF2 bit off more than its expected share of box-office pizza. In light of the first FNAF 's ginormous $80 million opening weekend (while simultaneously streaming on Peacock, no less), movie analysts expected its follow-up - a slenderly budgeted PG-13 miasma of revenge and cutesy robotic animals inhabited by the souls of dead children - to similarly put butts in seats. Particularly Gen-Z and Generation Alpha gamer zealots for whom developer Scott Cawthon's gaming series is a cultural landmark."

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 exceeded prerelease tracking by grossing $63 million across 3,400 North American screens, defeating Zootopia 2 despite lower expectations. The film set a record for post-Thanksgiving openings, registered as the second-largest horror opening of the year, and became 2025's biggest PG-13 debut. The sequel followed a $36 million budget and strong brand-driven interest from Gen-Z and Generation Alpha fans after the first film's $80 million opening while streaming. Zootopia 2 retained higher production and marketing spend and broader recognition, yet FNAF2 captured the top spot among new wide releases.

Read at Vulture