Now that the spooky season is in full force, there’s one thing that other movies have to contend with, and that’s Taylor Swift. A horror film that takes after one of the most acclaimed movies ever, The Exorcist: Believer, was no match for the mighty wrath of Swift. Now, projections are saying that the upcoming Blumhouse horror film from Universal, Five Nights at Freddy’s, will already be tailing Swift’s The Eras Tour’s opening with the second-best of the fall.
It’s obvious that the competing films will pale in comparison to the monster pre-sold ticket sales in the opening of Swift’s concert film. While The Eras Tour made a whopping $92.8 million at the time of its premiere, Deadline is estimating that Five Nights at Freddy’s will be gearing up for an opening of around $40 million in its opening weekend. The publication also claims that at worst-case scenario, it will still reach around $30 million for its October premiere. A year ago, a similar total was calculated for another Universal Blumhouse production from Exorcist: Believer‘s David Gordon Green, Halloween Ends, which would reach around $40 million in three days.
While Exorcist: Believer has the benefit of its popular IP, it also works against it as the numerous fans of the coveted classic would feel protective of the original’s legacy and backlash against this recent film’s attempt to recapture the scares. The case would be quite different for Five Nights at Freddy’s for it is based on a popular horror video game of the same name and has the brand recognizable enough to attract the existing fans with far less to live up to.
It is being reported that Five Nights at Freddy’s projected $40 million opening is already bigger than the current take for Exorcist: Believer, which only managed to scare up $26.4 million at its premiere weekend and recently drove its total up to $47 million through Tuesday. This proved to be troublesome for Universal and Blumhouse/ Morgan Creek as the studios made a giant $400 million purchase for the Exorcist rights in hopes of making a new trilogy. Even with the current reception, Universal plans on moving forward with the trilogy, but is desperately rethinking their approach to the next films.