Much like its predecessor, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 overcame critical backlash to become a box office hit, and director Emma Tammi is happy with the results. Tammi helped bring the franchise to life first by helming the 2023 adaptation of the viral horror video game series, with the sequel picking up two years after its predecessor as Josh Hutcherson’s Mike and Elizabeth Lail’s Vanessa learn that Abby, longing for her animatronic friends to return, has inadvertently unleashed a new malevolent spirit with dark designs for the town.

In honor of the movie’s digital release, ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan interviewed Emma Tammi to discuss Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. When asked about the sequel’s box office success, the director began by calling them “really exciting numbers to read about,” with the film having passed the $200 million mark at the time of the interview, and now reaching $221 million:

I’m really excited that the fan base loved it as much as they did. And yeah, I think the team did such a great job, the cast and crew, and I’m very excited that it landed for everybody.

In looking at the movie’s critical response, in which it saw a 50% dip from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Tammi described a movie’s opening weekend as being “a journey” and a “terrifying experience“ as it heads “into the unknown of how something’s going to do at the box office or critically.” Acknowledging there being “zero control” over how a movie like Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will be received, the director stated that “all you can do is hang on for the ride.”

Recalling the early days as “the critical reviews start hitting before the audience reviews start getting published,” Tammi expressed that the “real disparity” between the two sides of the field is “tough” for her to process with each film. However, she affirmed that the creative team are still “really focused” on ensuring that fans of the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise are pleased with what they’re getting:

We’re really focused on making these films on the fan base and the audience that we knew were going to want to come out and see it. And they’ve been loving it. So that feels like really the thing that we’ve paid the most attention to. And thank goodness that’s been positive.

Both Five Nights at Freddy’s movies have proven to fall on deaf ears with critics, with the first film being deemed as unscary, particularly compared to its source material, netting it a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2025 sequel, despite being seen by some as an improvement with its focus on worldbuilding and lore, dropped to a 16% rating, becoming one of the worst-reviewed horror films of the year.

But, as previously mentioned, audiences have propelled Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 to being another success for Blumhouse. In addition to securing a near-identical audience score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel narrowly fell short of the original’s record-setting opening weekend at the box office, grossing over $64 million worldwide. This not only instantly secured its reported production budget of $51 million, but also fluctuated between the No. 1 and No. 2 spots at the box office in the following weeks before taking a backseat to new releases, Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Housemaid and David.

Though its recent digital release does eliminate its chances of matching the original’s record-setting $297.1 million haul, the fact that Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 soared as high as it did in spite of its reviews is a good sign for the franchise’s future. Matthew Lillard previously indicated his contract was for three films, and the 2025 sequel ended on multiple cliffhangers to set up more films. With audiences still turning up to the theater for the Blumhouse adaptations and defending it against critics, Tammi should continue to take whatever lessons learned between the first two films and apply them to the next one.

Release Date

December 5, 2025

Director

Emma Tammi

Writers

Scott Cawthon

Producers

Jason Blum, Scott Cawthon, Jennifer Scudder Trent, Jon Romano

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