Five Nights at Freddy's

Five Nights at Freddy's is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by Emma Tammi from a screenplay she co-wrote with Scott Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback, based on the video game franchise of the same name created and developed by Cawthon. It stars Josh Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Mary Stuart Masterson, Piper Rubio, Kat Conner Sterling, and Elizabeth Lail.
The film was first announced in April 2015 with the involvement of Warner Bros. Pictures, and Gil Kenan made a deal to direct and co-write it. After several delays to begin production, Warner Bros. eventually put the project into turnaround and Kenan was no longer involved. In March 2017, it was announced that Blumhouse Productions would produce the film. Chris Columbus was set to write and direct it in February 2018. Later, Columbus left the project, with Tammi replacing him as director and co-writer in October 2022. Principal photography began in February 2023 in New Orleans and ended on April 3 of the same year.
Five Nights at Freddy's was released simultaneously in theatres and on Peacock in the United States on October 27, 2023, by Universal Pictures.
==Synopsis==
The film follows Mike Schmidt, a troubled young man caring for his 10-year-old sister Abby, and haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his younger brother more than a decade before. 
Recently fired and desperate for work so that he can keep custody of Abby, Mike agrees to take a position as a night security guard at a once-successful abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. But Mike soon discovers its four animatronic mascots — Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Bunny, Chica the Chicken, and Foxy the Pirate — move and kill anyone that is still there after midnight.
==Cast ==
*Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt
*Matthew Lillard as Steve Raglan / William Afton
* Mary Stuart Masterson as Aunt Jane
*Piper Rubio as Abby Schmidt
*Kat Conner Sterling as Max, Abby's babysitter
*Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa, a local police officer
*Cory DeVante Williams as a taxi driver (cameo)
== Production==
===Development===
====Warner Bros. Pictures (2015-17)====
Warner Bros. Pictures announced in April 2015 that it had acquired the film rights to the video game series Five Nights at Freddy's. Roy Lee, David Katzenberg, and Seth Grahame-Smith were set to produce the adaptation. Grahame-Smith stated that they would collaborate with series creator Scott Cawthon "to make an insane, terrifying and weirdly adorable movie". In July 2015, Gil Kenan signed to direct the adaptation and co-write it with Tyler Burton Smith.
In January 2017, Cawthon stated that partially due to "problems within the movie industry as a whole", the film "was met with several delays and roadblocks" and it was "back at square one", but he promised, 
"I'm involved with the movie from day one this time, and that's something extremely important to me. I want this movie to be something that I'm excited for the fanbase to see."
In March 2017, Cawthon posted on Twitter a picture at Blumhouse Productions, announcing the film had a new production company. In May 2017, producer Jason Blum said he was excited and working closely with Cawthon on the adaptation. In June 2017, Kenan said he was no longer directing the film after Warner Bros. Pictures' turnaround.
====Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures (2017-present) ====
In February 2018, it was announced that Chris Columbus would direct and write the film, besides producing it alongside Blum and Cawthon.
In August 2018, Cawthon announced that the first draft of the film's script, which he wrote with co-author of the Five Nights at Freddy's novel trilogy Kira Breed-Wrisley, was completed, and would involve the events of the first game in the series. In the same month, Blum wrote on Twitter that the film was aiming for a 2020 release. In November, Cawthon announced that his script for the film, despite being liked by Columbus and Blum, had been scrapped by him, as he "had a different idea for [the story], one that I liked better". This would contribute to a further delay to the film, which Cawthon took full responsibility. In June 2020, during an interview with Fandom, Blum, when asked about the progress of the film, stated: "It's super active, so I really feel like we have a very good shot at seeing a Five Nights at Freddy's movie...I feel like it's really moving forward; it's not stalled or anything else. It's moving forward rapidly. I don't want to put a timeline on it, but soon we'll get a movie. I feel really confident about that."
In September 2021, it was revealed by Blum that Columbus was no longer involved with the project, but it was still in active development. In August 2022, Blum revealed Jim Henson's Creature Shop would be working on the animatronics for the film. In October of the same year, Emma Tammi was announced to direct the film in addition to co-writing alongside Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback.
===Writing===
Nine screenplays for the film were discarded during development. The first draft, which centered on a group of troublemakers breaking into Freddy's and ended with the group "in a secret underground animatronic factory that was designing robots for the goverment", was discarded due to having a convoluted story in spite of its "pretty basic setup" and deviating too much from the source material.
A second draft that centered around plushies taking over Manhattan was written, but was also discarded.
A third draft was later developed, and centered around a boy named Charlie sneaking into Freddy's to recover a lost toy. While having more elements from the source material than the first draft, it was still perceived to be rather "loosely based" on the original games, and was discarded as well.
After joining the film as a writer, Even Kira and Cawthon wrote a fourth draft that drew inspiration from the tie-in books. However, due to Cawthon's inexperience as a film writer and in spite of Kira's own experience, their version of the film was discarded. After this, Cawthon choose to write a story centered around the games rather than the books.
Later, a fifth draft was written, that centered around the animatronics joining forces with a group of kids after Freddy is stolen and taken to a pawn shop. Througth the draft was considered to have a "creative approach" to the franchise, it was discarded due to feeling "a little too much like 'a boy and his animatronic'" and lacking horror elements.
Following this, a sixth draft was written. Described as "the most accurate" draft towards the source material by that point, the screenplay contained several elements and lore from the games. It was discarded due to feeling unaccessible to audiences unfamiliar with the source material and because it "just wasn't satisfying".
A seventh draft was written afterwards, which centered around the child of a single mother moving to a new town and discovering Freddy's. While initally approved for filming, as the studio felt it lacked "serious flaws", it was discarded as well because the filmmakers felt that the kid's reason to stay at Freddy's was confusing and forced.
After this, an eigth draft in which a "ghost-catching" group entered Freddy's was made, but later discarded due to centering too much on the group's backstories and not in the current storyline.
A ninth screenplay was later developed. A variation of the previous draft storyline, it also featured "the Funtime Animatronics, underground ball-pit tunnels, and a Marionette out for revenge". The draft was discarded because the filmmakers felt it was "too over-the-place", with too much enphasis on the action.
Following this, the film's final screenplay was developed and approved for development, as the filmmakers felt it was "a good mix" of all the positive elements featured in previous drafts, being "fun", "scary", and having "a great central story".
According to Cawthon, common problems througth development included giving the lead characters a reason to stay at Freddy's due to the film's modern-day setting, and to give them a personal connection to the restaurant itself.
===Casting===
In December 2022, Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard joined the cast as undisclosed roles. Popular YouTuber Dawko later revealed during a livestream that Hutcherson would portray security guard Mike Schmidt and Lillard would portray the main villain William Afton. He also revealed that Mary Stuart Masterson and Piper Rubio joined the cast as an undisclosed female villain and Schmidt's younger sister Abby, respectively. In March 2023, it was reported that Kat Conner Sterling and Elizabeth Lail were cast in the film.
===Filming===
Principal photography was initially set to begin in spring 2021. However, due to screenplay issues, filming was delayed. Filming began in New Orleans on February 1, 2023, under the working title Bad Cupcake, and wrapped up on April 3. Lillard began filming his scenes in mid-February.
==Release==
Five Nights at Freddy's was released simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock in the United States by Universal Pictures on October 27, 2023.
===Box office===
The film is expected to make around $35-55 million in it's opening weekend.
== Future==
In August 2018, Cawthon said that if the first film (which, at the time, was planned to pick up the story from the first game) were to be successful, there could be a second and third film, following the respective events of the second and third games. In January 2023, in an interview on the podcast WeeklyMTG, Lillard revealed he signed a three-picture deal with the studios.
==Videos==
Five Nights At Freddy's - Official Teaser
Five Nights At Freddy's - Official Trailer
Five Nights at Freddy's - Official Trailer 2
=== TV Spots===
Five Nights at Freddy's - In theaters and streaming on Peacock October 27 (TV SPOT -1)
Five Nights at Freddy's - In theaters and streaming on Peacock October 27 (TV SPOT -2)
Five Nights at Freddy's - In theaters and streaming on Peacock October 27 (TV SPOT -3)
Five Nights at Freddy's - In theaters and streaming on Peacock October 27 (TV SPOT -4)
==References==
Category:Film articles without a specified rating
Category:American films
Category:2023 films
Category:2023 in film
Category:2023 American films
Category:2020s films
Category:2020s American films
Category:Blumhouse Productions films
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:English-language films
Category:Horror films
Category:American horror films
Category:2023 horror films
Category:2023 American horror films
Category:2020s horror films
Category:2020s American horror films
Category:Supernatural films
Category:American horror supernatural films
Category:American supernatural films
Category:2023 supernatural films
Category:2023 American supernatural films
Category:Films based on video games
Category:Films directed by Emma Tammi
Category:Films shot in New Orleans
Category:Films produced by Jason Blum
Category:Films produced by Scott Cawthon
Category:Films with screenplays by Scott Cawthon
Category:Films starring Josh Hutcherson
Category:Films starring Matthew Lillard
Category:Films starring Mary Stuart Masterson
Category:Robot films
Category:American robot films
Category:Live-action films based on video games
Category:Films about siblings
Category:Films set in 2000
Category:2020s English-language films