Though Five Nights at Freddy’s received unfavorable reviews from critics, it scared up big numbers at the box office, bringing droves of moviegoers who couldn’t get enough of the carnage. The video game adaptation proved to be one of the most popular theatrical releases of the year despite also becoming available day-and-date for anyone with a Peacock subscription and even broke a Blumhouse record before it was all said and done. So why was FNAF such a booming success? Matthew Lillard, who portrayed overarching villain William Afton, knows exactly why -- and his logic makes sense.
Ahead of the home release for FNAF, which is available now on Digital, 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD from Universal Home Entertainment, the Scream alum opened up to CinemaBlend about the movie and its success. He specifically spoke about the dedicated fanbase who made it all happen:
If people don't know, I mean, the fan base is everything that a Star Trek was back in the day, or a Star Wars is now. I mean, there's very few things that rival this fan base worldwide. And people that don't know, don't know, but that doesn't discount the fact that it is alive and kicking.
Matthew Lillard explained that the movie was authentically made for that community, with people like game creator Scott Cawthon, director Emma Tammi, producer Scott Blum and the Five Nights at Freddy’s cast keeping the fanbase (both newcomers and longtime supporters alike) happy. He admitted that most horror movies would be shorter (while FNAF is nearly two hours long) and more graphic, but they wanted to be more inclusive using a PG-13 rating. As he said:
They are committed to delivering for the fans, and I think that has to be celebrated.
Throughout our conversation, the fan-favorite actor constantly brought up the fans and how much they cared about the franchise. At one point, he opened up about a fan handing him a 60-page layout of the video game’s lore because they thought it was important that he understood it. Later on, the Scooby-Doo star said since his involvement in the movie was announced, his lines at conventions have gone from three hours to six hours in length. He continued:
I mean, it was crazy. And people, you know, every third person had an Afton bobblehead, a spring trap bobblehead, or it was in cosplay. So I had a firsthand sort of understanding of the depth and the passion of the fan base. … And to be fair, Blumhouse, Universal, and the creative powers that be, deliver for that fan base.
With all the Five Nights at Freddy’s Easter eggs throughout the movie, it’s clear to see that everyone involved was trying to make it fun for that community, which just so happens to be “enormous worldwide,” as Lillard put it.
All in all, Five Nights at Freddy’s has made $288.6 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, which is great news for fans of the movie and the popular video game franchise on which it's based. And while we don’t yet know what the future holds in regard to a sequel, some of Matthew Lillard’s comments, as well as Emma Tabbi's sentiments on the ending, give us hope that we’ll be able to make another addition to the list of upcoming horror movies. That has to have that rabid fan base even more excited for what’s to come.
