“Five Nights at Freddy’s” drops 76%, repeats at No. 1

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” flopped at the box office but managed to rise to the top. Universal and Blumhouse’s fall hit took in $19.4 million in its sophomore outing, a massive 76% drop from its debut.

Universal and Blumhouse’s creepy video game adaptation, set in a haunted Chuck E. Cheese-esque establishment, has grossed a whopping $113 million to date. Despite the significant decline, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” generated significant revenue far More than anyone expected with an $80 million opening weekend. So second weekend ticket sales are still decent for the $20 million-budgeted film, which simultaneously arrived on the streaming service Peacock.

Although Peacock has far fewer subscribers than competitors like Disney and Netflix, box office analysts point to digital and daily release as the reason behind the huge decline in ticket sales. Even if that were the case, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” would be a huge commercial success. After 10 days of release, it has already become the highest-grossing horror film of the year, surpassing The Nun II ($85 million), M3GAN ($95 million), and Scream VI ($108 million).

David A says: “Five Nights at Freddy’s is tanking in its second weekend of simulcast,” said Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “The two screening options compete with each other. An exclusive theatrical release generates the most box office gross and then elevates the film and builds anticipation for the premiere that follows.”

Otherwise, it was a quiet weekend at the box office, as two new releases — Meg Ryan’s romantic comedy “What Happens Later” and Neil Berger’s psychological thriller “The Marsh King’s Daughter” — failed to crack the top five. The domestic box office grossed nearly $59 million over the weekend, one of the lowest of the year.

“What Happens Later,” which co-stars Ryan and David Duchovny as two exes who meet at the airport, debuted at No. 9 with a lukewarm $1.5 million in 1,492 theaters. The Marsh King’s Daughter, starring Daisy Ridley as the daughter of a kidnapper who escapes from prison, fared even worse. The Lionsgate and Roadside attraction opened at No. 12 with a dismal $820,000 from 1,055 venues.

Without any notable newcomers, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” remained in second place, grossing $13.5 million in its fourth weekend of release. It grossed $166 million in North America, cementing its place as the highest-grossing concert film in domestic box office history. “The Eras Tour” broke that record in its opening weekend with $92 million, surpassing the 2011 domestic total of “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” ($72 million).

In third place, Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” added $7 million from 3,786 theaters, a slight 25% decline from the previous weekend. Ticket sales for the crime epic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, need to maintain box office strength to justify its $200 million budget. To date, “Flower Moon” has grossed $52 million domestically and $100 million worldwide after three weeks of release. However, Apple, which backed the big-budget film and hired Paramount to release it in theaters, may not have the same success metrics as traditional Hollywood actors. It’s a safe bet that awards season interest and Apple TV+ fodder will help validate the price.

Sofia Coppola’s biopic “Priscilla Presley” took fourth place, earning a better-than-expected $5 million as A24 expanded the film to 1,259 theaters. The well-reviewed film grossed a limited release of $132,139 from four screens and has grossed $5.3 million to date. “Priscilla,” an awards season show promising and very different from Baz Luhrmann’s diverse 2022 biopic “Elvis,” will continue to expand through the fall.

“[Romantic dramas] “They’re not big movies, but when they connect they can run,” Gross says. “It could still happen here.”

“Radical,” produced by Pantelion, comes in fifth place, pushing Universal’s “The Exorcist: Believer” into sixth place. The Spanish-language film starring Eugenio Derbez earned $2.7 million from 419 venues in its debut weekend.