Box Office: ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Bears Down With Big $39.4 Million Opening Day

variety.com:

Blumhouse Productions‘ horror film spring-trapped$39.4 million in ticket sales from 3,675 locations on its opening day, a number that includes $10.3 million in preview screenings.

That’s an impressive figure for a release that is already available on streaming. Universal elected to drop “Freddy’s” on its platform Peacock on the same day as its theatrical debut.

The studio employed the strategy with previous Blumhouse productions, the slasher sequels “Halloween Kills” ($49 million debut) and “Halloween Ends” ($40 million debut). “Five Nights” looks to be outperforming both of those films though, now projecting a three-day total of $78 million.

With a lean production budget of $20 million, it’s already a winner. The horror film, based on the viral, lore-heavy video game series of the same name, is looking to land among the top October openings ever. “Joker” holds the record with $96.1 million, followed by this fall’s “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” ($92 million), two “Venom” entries ($90 million and $80 million) and Blumhouse’s first “Halloween” ($76 million).