The first weekend of December is typically a less lucrative frame at the box office following the Thanksgiving weekend, but this year is shaping up to still put up a solid showing. After an abysmal fall, the box office has rebounded with huge debuts from Wicked: For Good ($147 million) and Zootopia 2 ($100 million 3-day, $158.8 million 5-day).

With what will likely be the biggest film of the year – Disney’s Avatar: Fire & Ash – hitting theaters on December 19, a sure-to-be-blockbuster like that often leads to a lull in theaters in theaters in the weeks that follows. That’s not the case this year, with four very unique offerings hitting theaters in wide release.

Arriving in theaters this weekend is Blumhouse’s horror sequel Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, GKids’ anime adventure Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution, Sony’s filmed Brodway production Merrily We Roll Along and the 275-minute Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. While each will factor into the top 10, the latter three are not expected to give FNAF 2 much of a run for the box office crown.

We’re predicting a $42.5 million debut for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which, while it is a strong opening, is still roughly half of its predecessor’s debut, and in second place behind last weekend’s winner, Zootopia 2, which will dip to $48.9 million and remain in first place.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Will Ironically Fail To Reach Its Predecessor

Blumhouse and Universal’s original 2023 adaptation of the Five Night’s at Freddy’s hit video game was somewhat of a box office enigma. Jason Blum’s horror studio made the controversial decision to debut the film simultaneously in theaters and streaming on Peacock. It debuted with a whopping $80 million over the Halloween 2023 weekend. However, it quickly came crashing down.

It made just over $19 million in its second frame for a gargantuan 76.2% drop, and it was run out of theaters after just eight weeks. Still, it managed to earn $137.2 million domestic and $291.4 million worldwide, from just a $20 million budget, while still available to stream for free for Peacock subscribers.

Five Night’s at Freddy’s would go on to be Blumhouse’s highest-grossing move ever, though Blum himself admitted it was a mistake to debut the film in theaters and on streaming simultaneously, despite all the success. Now his sequel Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will debut without a streaming counterpart, arriving in roughly 3,300 theaters this weekend.

The original Five Nights at Freddy’s also managed to find box office success without a warm critical reception as well. The original film earned a rather Rotten 33% from 215 official Tomatometer critics during its theatrical run. However, the fans clearly loved it, with an 86% Popcornmeter rating from over 2,500 verified fan reviews.

The review embargo for the sequel has not yet been lifted, so it’s unclear quite yet how the critics will chime in on the follow-up. With very little competition in theaters next weekend, it would be intriguing if the sequel managed to have an opposite performance from its predecessor.

While the first movie opened huge and petered out quickly, it’s possible FNAF 2 could have better “legs” and still pull off an impressive performance.

Anime Adventure Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution Will Lead The Remaining Newcomers

The Hollywood anime explosion will help close out the rest of the year with Sony’s Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution, based on the beloved anime series. It’s already been a big year for anime in U.S. theaters with the release of Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc plus the Netflix sensation K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution serves as a compilation film from the anime TV series, and will also give fans a much-anticipated look at the third season of the show. Critics have not yet chimed in on this project either, with no official Tomatometer scores in at the moment on Rotten Tomatoes, so it remains to be seen if the critical response will have any effect on the box office.

It’s also unclear at the moment how many theaters it’s expected to debut in this weekend, though we’re projecting a $9.6 million bow for the film. It will debut in fourth place, behind, Zootopia 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and Wicked: For Good ($36.4 million).

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair – director Quentin Tarantino’s 275-minute epic that combines his 2003 Kill Bil: Vol. 1 and 2004’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2 into one massive movie – will round out the top five for the weekend. We’re predicting an opening of $8.3 million for this massive saga starring Uma Thurman as The Bride.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 took in $70 million domestic and $180.9 million worldwide back in October 2003, with Vol. 2 taking in $66.2 million domestic and $152.1 million worldwide during its run. Tarantino first announced this cut back in 2008, complete with a brand new extended animation sequence that wasn’t in the first two films.

While the director has screened The Whole Bloody Affair at the New Beverly Theater – the repertory movie theater he owns in Los Angeles, this new release will give fans all across the world a chance to see it on the big screen. Take a look at our full predictions for the week of Decemer 5-7 below.