Bill Skarsgård’s Blockbuster Horror Gets Cursed by ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ at the Box Office

With a digital release probably around the corner — remember, its predecessor debuted day-and-date on Peacock — the new horror hit Five Nights at Freddy’s 2is on the verge of passing two major box office milestones. This week, it’ll hit the coveted $100 million mark domestically, and over the weekend, it should pass the $200 million milestone worldwide. The horror sequel still hasn’t come anywhere close to matching (or beating) the unexpectedly solid performance of the first Five Nights at Freddy’s, which made nearly $300 million worldwide despite that day-and-date digital release. But it serves as a much-needed course correction for Blumhouse, the horror specialist banner that has been in a terrible run over the last couple of years. On its way out of theaters, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 overtook a horror hit of an entirely different kind, Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu.

Inspired by Bram Stoker‘s Dracula, the movie was essentially a remake of F.W. Murnau‘s German Expressionist classic from over a century ago. It exceeded box office expectations, grossing $95 million domestically and about $185 million worldwide, on a reported budget of $50 million. It was the highest-grossing hit of Eggers’ career, and a surprisingly successful outing for someone with such strong artistic sensibilities. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2has now grossed $97 million domestically, also against a $50 million budget. Unlike Nosferatu, which featured Bill Skarsgård in the titular role alongside Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and others, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2opened to terrible reviews, and is currently sitting at a 16% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s consensus reads, “A step down from an already clunky original, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 goes through the motions with all the grace of a malfunctioning animatronic.”

Robert Eggers’ Is Cooking Up Another Period Horror

The first film was also critically panned, but it was clearly a hit among its target audience, the Gen Z who grew up playing the source video games. Nosferatu, on the other hand, appealed to millennials raised on A24 horror films, even though it was distributed by Focus Features. The banner is continuing its partnership with Eggers on his next film, Werwulf, which will debut during Christmastime next year. The movie features Depp and Willem Dafoe, alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Ineson. You can watch Nosferatu at home and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.