Blumhouse has dropped new details on the impending release of their Five Nights at Freddy’s adaptation coming this fall. The film, based on the 2014 video game designed by Scott Cawthon for his own Scottgames, follows a new security guard, Mike Schmidt (The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson), who begins working at a children’s oriented pizza joint, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, only to find that the animatronics of its characters are out to get him.
The game itself has already become a much-loved franchise, generating novel adaptations, anthologies, and a wealth of fan-based art and writing. The feature adaptation of the game has been eagerly awaited by both fans of the game and horror lovers alike.
According to Deadline, the film will be released on October 27th in both theaters and on Peacock Streaming. Five Nights at Freddy’s will be the fourth Blumhouse movie to debut in both places at once, following 2022’s Firestarter and Halloween Ends, and 2021’s Halloween Kills. Blumhouse has also released the first official image from the much-awaited film on Instagram.
While many debate the strategy of simultaneous theatrical and streaming releases, which typically impact ticket sales, Nielsen ratings often still benefit the picture’s viewership at home. Halloween Kills netted only $49M in theaters while its follow-up grossed only $40M opening weekend, both significantly below the pre-pandemic release of the first film in the trilogy, 2018’s Halloween, which netted $72M upon opening. Firestarter, a revamp of the 1984 Stephen King classic, which many would argue was neither a good of a remake nor as much as a draw, could not quite top $10M. It remains to be seen if a concurrent Peacock streaming will release will benefit or hurt Five Nights at Freddy’s success.
The movie is directed by Emma Tammi from a script written by her, Scott Cawthon, and Seth Cuddeback. The film also stars Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Kat Conner Sterling, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Matthew Lillard (who proved his horror bona fides in the original Scream playing Stu Macher).
The adaptation’s success among audiences may hinge on the height of Halloween the release that late October brings, when even general audiences go looking for scary entertainment, of which Five Nights at Freddy’s certainly seems ready to offer. The film also features creatures designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, founded by famous Muppeteer Jim Henson in the 1970s, which have since designed decades of puppet favorites, including classic fantasy films like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.
SOURCE: Deadline