Five Nights at Freddy's

## Chronology

*"Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, where fantasy and fun come to life. If you're watching this video, it means you've been selected as Freddy's newest security guard. We're going to have so much fun together."*
―Kim
***Five Nights at Freddy's*** is a 2023 supernatural horror film, based on the video game of the same name. The film was released on October 27, 2023.

Based on a screenplay by Scott Cawthon, the film is directed by Emma Tammi and stars Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt, Matthew Lillard as William Afton, Piper Rubio as Abby Schmidt, Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa Shelly and Mary Stuart Masterson as Aunt Jane.

## Synopsis

The terrifying horror game phenomenon becomes a blood-chilling cinematic event, as Blumhouse— the producer of M3GAN, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man— brings Five Nights at Freddy’s to the big screen.

The film follows Mike (Josh Hutcherson; Ultraman, The Hunger Games franchise) a troubled young man caring for his 10-year-old sister Abby (Piper Rubio; Holly & Ivy, Unstable), 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 an abandoned theme restaurant: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. But Mike soon discovers that nothing at Freddy’s is what it seems. With the aid of Vanessa, a local police officer (Elizabeth Lail; You, Mack & Rita), Mike’s nights at Freddy’s will lead him into unexplainable encounters with the supernatural and drag him into the black heart of an unspeakable nightmare.

The film also stars Mary Stuart Masterson (Blindspot, Fried Green Tomatoes), as Mike’s icy Aunt Jane; Kat Conner Sterling (We Have a Ghost, 9-1-1) as Abby’s caring babysitter, Max; and Matthew Lillard (Good Girls, Scream) as Steve Raglan, Mike’s smug career counselor.

Five Nights at Freddy’s is directed by Emma Tammi (The Wind, Blood Moon) and is written by Scott Cawthon, Emma Tammi and Seth Cuddeback.

The film’s iconic animatronic characters will be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Five Nights at Freddy’s is produced by Jason Blum and Scott Cawthon. The film’s executive producers are Bea Sequeira, Russell Binder, Marc Mostman and Christopher H. Warner. Universal Pictures presents a Blumhouse production, in association with Striker Entertainment.

## Plot

A tense security guard hurriedly removes an air vent cover in his office at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Place, desperate to escape the approaching animatronics. He crawls through, hoping to evade them, but finds himself trapped in a dead end. One of the robots seizes him, strapping him to a chair with a menacing exoskeleton, designed to tear his head apart.

At 6:00 in the morning, the sound of an alarm clock beeping jolts mall cop Mike Schmidt awake. His first task of the day is waking up his younger sister, Abby. Later, at the mall, Mike shares a book on Dream Theory with his associate Jeremiah. A misunderstanding occurs when Mike confronts a man accompanying what appears to be a reluctant child near a fountain. Unfortunately, things take an unexpected turn, leading to Mike's dismissal from his job. Seeking new opportunities, he consults with career counselor Steve Raglan, who offers him a position as a security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

Upon arriving home, Mike discovers a delinquency notice, heightening his concerns about his family's financial stability. He expresses his gratitude to Max for babysitting Abby before drifting off to sleep, where he dreams of a happier time, camping with his family before his sister Abby was born. In the dream, he plays frisbee with his siblings, but the moment is shattered when he hears his little brother Garrett being taken away by an unknown car. Desperate, Mike calls out to him repeatedly, only to awaken abruptly the next morning. The following day, at Abby's kindergarten, Mike faces mounting pressure to transfer her custody to his aunt Jane during a meeting with the school nurse. Despite his apprehension, the nurse reassures him that it might be in Abby's best interest, urging him to first secure a stable job as the initial step toward ensuring her well-being.

On his way to the pizzeria, Mike receives a brief overview of the place's history and current state from Raglan. During his first night shift, Mike monitors the premises, relying on low-quality security footage and an inadequate training video that fails to introduce him to the animatronic characters. Equipped with a security vest and flashlight, he explores the pizzeria and is startled by a loud thud from the show stage. Peeking behind the curtains, he is met with the unexpected sight of Foxy, Bonnie, Chica, her cupcake, and Freddy Fazbear. Later, he experiences the recurring dream once more, where he confronts five enigmatic children at its supposed end. Desperate for answers about his missing brother, Mike questions the children, but they quickly scatter. In his pursuit, Mike stumbles and falls, ending his dream.

At *Sparky's Diner*, babysitter Max tries to negotiate payment with Jane, who had been promised money for finding evidence of criminal activity at Mike's house but had failed in her task. Unbeknownst to Max, her brother Jeff plans to break into the pizzeria, hoping to ensure Mike's dismissal and thereby facilitate Abby's supposed change of custody. That night, Mike experiences the same haunting dream, this time desperately pleading with the children not to flee. Met with silence, he screams at them, but they escape once more, with Mike managing to stop one child briefly, only to be stabbed in the process. Awakening abruptly, he finds himself in his office amidst distorted monitors and flickering lights. Frantically, he rushes to reset the breaker. Suddenly, policewoman Vanessa Shelly appears at the pizzeria, allowed inside by Mike. Shelly informs him about his bleeding arm, a result of the dream that's supposed to be fictional, and offers him the pizzeria's first aid kit. She also shares details about the Missing Children incident that occurred 20 years ago, which led to the pizzeria's closure.

Jeff and his companions, Carl and Hank, infiltrate the pizzeria the following morning with the intention to cause havoc. As they wreak havoc, Bonnie suddenly springs to life. In the kitchen, Carl hears a noise from the fridge and discovers Mr. Cupcake, the animatronic cupcake, opening its eyes. Startled, Carl looks away briefly, only to find the cupcake missing when he looks back. Chica appears, accompanied by Mr. Cupcake, and sets him upon Carl. Hank helplessly witnesses Carl being attacked, horrified by the sinister Chica. Meanwhile, Jeff makes his way to the security office, observing Hank's desperate attempts to escape via the monitors. Hank hides in a closet but becomes trapped when he hears Jeff's voice outside. Behind him, Bonnie appears and brutally silences Hank's screams. Jeff ventures out to confront Bonnie and, upon returning to the office, spots Chica sending Mr. Cupcake through the air vents. Jeff blocks Mr. Cupcake's exit and investigates the hallway after the office door is opened. The door closes behind him just as Foxy approaches, resulting in Jeff's demise. Simultaneously, Freddy Fazbear captures Max, who is led into his mouth by a mysterious boy and chopped in half.

Upon discovering the child custody papers at home, Abby confronts Mike, worried he might be giving her away. Mike reassures her of his commitment, but their conversation is interrupted by Shelly, who informs Mike about the recent break-in and the discovery of sleeping pills. Taking Shelly for a walk, Mike confides in her about the pills and their connection to his past, particularly Garrett's kidnapping. Unable to reach Max on the phone that night, Mike reluctantly brings Abby to the pizzeria, setting strict rules. While Abby sleeps in the office, Mike cleans up the establishment, noticing unsettling bloodstains everywhere. During the night, Abby encounters Freddy in the restroom after leaving. In Mike's recurring dream, he talks to one of the children who draws in the sand, asking for the person behind Garrett's abduction. The child questions their reward, and Mike hears a distant girl's scream. When he turns back, the child vanishes, leaving a drawing of a rabbit behind. Mike wakes up to find Abby surrounded by the animatronics, who have surprisingly befriended her. Startled, Mike insists they leave, but Abby leaves a thank-you note for the animatronics before departing. Curious about the encounter, Mike questions Abby, who reveals that the "ghosts" are what animate the animatronics. She adds that the children often spoke of a "yellow rabbit."

Mike and Abby joined Shelly at the pizzeria, where she was captivated by a drawing of a yellow rabbit. While constructing a fort inside, Mike assisted Shelly in her quest for tablecloths, stumbling upon a springlock suit in the process. Shelly warned him about its instability and urged him not to touch it. Growing suspicious, Mike questioned Shelly about Garrett's kidnapping, prompting her to raise her voice. Upon returning to the stage, they found Abby about to touch Bonnie's guitar strings. When she did, Bonnie malfunctioned, emitting small electrical explosions that knocked her out. After reviving, Shelly threatened Mike never to bring her to the pizzeria again. The next day, after a failed conversation with Aunt Jane and Abby, Abby angrily retreated to her room, removing Mike from her drawings. Despite this, Mike revisited the pizzeria, only to find the events unfolding differently. The children responsible for the changes offered him this altered dream, promising a happy ending for Abby in return. Initially accepting, Mike later refused, warning them to stay away from his sister. He woke up restrained on the same machine as the previous security guard but managed to escape just before Foxy could stop him, despite his injuries. Meanwhile, Jane remained unaware of the golden Freddy Fazbear apparition in the house, relaxing and watching television. Possessed by a child, he and Abby took a taxi to the pizzeria.

Shelly took Mike to a police supply outpost, where she tended to his wounds and explained the incident orchestrated by a man named William Afton, who happened to be her father. Meanwhile, Abby explored the pizzeria on her own. Shelly informed Mike on how to defend against the animatronics using electricity and guided him to the outlet vent on the east side of the pizzeria's building. There, he managed to disable Freddy and Bonnie. Mike intercepted Chica just as she was about to put Abby in a springlock suit and fled with her. However, he was caught by Mr. Cupcake, whom he also disabled after instructing Abby to run and hide. Abby found refuge from Foxy in a ball pit while Mike returned to the main area in search of her. From the shadowy entrance, a yellow rabbit, seemingly manually operated, appeared. Mike tased the rabbit, but it simply laughed and launched an attack. The other animatronics restarted upon hearing the rabbit's voice. Shelly managed to apprehend the rabbit, who unmasked himself as the man using the alias "Steve Raglan" - William Afton. Afton reminded Shelly of her responsibility to keep Mike in the dark and choked her after a witty remark. Mike instructed Abby to remind the children of the truth by drawing a picture depicting Afton's murder of the children. The children witnessed the drawing and surrounded Afton, who berated them for what they had become. The cupcake bit off a part of Afton's suit, triggering the springlocks. Afton, assuring that he would always return, donned his rabbit mask as he was dragged into a storage room, left to decay in solitude.

A few weeks later, Abby had made significant progress in her social interactions at kindergarten and was warmly welcomed home with a comforting meal of spaghetti and meatballs. Meanwhile, Michael made a brief stop at the hospital, expressing his gratitude to the unconscious Shelly for her heroism. Meanwhile, in the decaying storage room, Afton, still twitching inside the deteriorating suit, reached out to one of the curious children who had come to check on him. Slowly, he closed the door, his sinister intentions hidden in the darkness. The taxi driver who had driven Abby and Golden Freddy to the pizzeria found himself terrified when he discovered a miniature version of Balloon Boy in his taxi cab.

## Cast

* Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt
	+ Wyatt Parker as Young Mike
* Piper Rubio as Abby Schmidt
* Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa Shelly
	+ Emma Jo Tassin as Young Vanessa
* Matthew Lillard as Steve Raglan/William Afton
* Mary Stuart Masterson as Jane Schmidt
* Kat Conner Sterling as Max
* David Lind as Jeff
* Christian Stokes as Hank
* Joseph Poliquin as Carl
* Grant Feely as Ghost Kid (Blonde Boy)
* Asher Colton Spence as Ghost Kid (With Hook)
* David Huston Doty as Ghost Kid (With Bunny Ears)
* Liam Hendrix as Ghost Kid (With Hat)
* Jophielle Love as Ghost Kid (Blue-Eyed Girl)
* Tadasay Young as Dr. Lillian
* Michael P. Sullivan as Doug
* Lucas Grant as Garrett Schmidt
* Jessica Blackmore as Mike's Mom
* Garrett Hines as Mike's Dad
* Ryan Reinike as Freddy's Security Guard
* Theodus Crane as Jeremiah
* Julia Belanova as Cindy
* Lisa Mackel Smith as Ice Cream Lady
* Xander Mateo as Afraid Young Boy
* Matthew Patrick as Sparky's Diner Waiter
* Bailey Winston as Kim
* Gralen Bryant Banks as Pharmacist
* Cory Williams as Cabbie
* Victoria Patenaude as Social Worker
* Kevin Foster as Freddy Fazbear
* Michael W. Hoban as Suspected Kidnapper (uncredited)
* Jade Kindar-Martin as Bonnie
* Jess Weiss as Chica

## Appearances

### Locations

* United States of America
	+ Granite Falls, Minnesota
		- Mike Schmidt's House
		- Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Place
		- *Sparky's*
	+ Nebraska (Mike's Dreams)

### Events

* Kidnapping of Garrett Schmidt
* Missing Children Incident (mentioned)
* Altercation in the Mall Fountain
* Infiltration of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Place

### Items

* Animatronics
	+ Mr. Cupcake
	+ Springlock Suits
		- Spring Bonnie Suit
* *Dream Theory*
* *Centipede*
* *Asteroids*
* *Chia Pet* (television)

### Organizations

* Panasonic
* Fazbear Entertainment (mentioned; badge)
* *Tire Zone* (mentioned)
* *Media World* (mentioned)

## Production

Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the film rights to the *Five Nights at Freddy's* franchise by April 2015, with Roy Lee, David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith set to produce, and in collaboration with Scott Cawthon to deliver "an insane, terrifying and weirdly adorable movie", as per Grahame-Smith. In July, Gil Kenan would direct and co-write the film with Tyler Burton Smith.

Due to "problems within the movie industry" and "several delays and roadblocks", Blumhouse Productions would make the film in turnaround with Warner Bros. by March 2017, now "back to square one". Jason Blum was excited to produce alongside Cawthon. Kenan would no longer direct following the turnaround. In his place, Chris Columbus would direct and write, and produce as well as of 2018, though resigning in January 2021. He was replaced by the current director Emma Tammi by October 2022, writing with Seth Cuddeback.

Though aiming for a 2020 release, according to Blum, the film would be delayed in favor of a new, better script by Cawthon. With this seemingly final script, Jim Henson's Creature Shop was revealed to be building the animatronics as of August 2022.

Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard were cast in undisclosed roles in December 2022, later to be confirmed to be portraying Mike Schmidt and William Afton respectively by Lewis "Dawko" Dawkins. Dawko further revealed Mary Stuart Masterson's role as the overarching antagonist and Piper Rubio's role as Mike's little sister Abby Schmidt. Kat Conner Sterling and Elizabeth Lail were cast in March 2023, and Lucas Grant and Jessica Blackmore in May that year.

## Videos

### Trailers

Five Nights At Freddy's - Official TeaserFive Nights At Freddy's - Official TrailerFive 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)
### Featurettes

Five Nights at Freddy's - "A Look Inside"Five Nights at Freddy's - "FNAF is..."Five Nights at Freddy's - For the Fans
### Miscellaneous

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza - Security Footage
## Trivia

* Before the film rights were given to Blumhouse, the rights were originally given to Warner Bros. and was supposed to be Rated R. After many roadblocks during production, the rights were given to Blumhouse
* Many scripts were considered for the film as revealed by Scott Cawthon.
* The production name was “Bad Cupcake”
* *Five Nights at Freddy’s* is Blumhouse’s highest grossing movie ever.
	+ The film is also the highest grossing horror film post covid

## References

Five Nights at Freddy's Wiki has a collection of images and media related to **Five Nights at Freddy's**.

1. ↑ Five Nights at Freddy's | BBFC
2. ↑ Five Nights at Freddy's | Cast & Synopsis | Oct 27, 2023
3. ↑ Christian Stokes on Twitter - March 5, 2023
4. ↑ Lucas Grant on Instagram - June 27, 2023
5. ↑ Five Nights at Freddy's - Official Trailer
6. ↑ Video Game ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Getting Movie Treatment (Exclusive)
7. ↑ Gil Kenan To Direct ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ For Warner Bros
8. ↑ ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ Movie Release Is Back At Square One, Says Scott Cawthon
9. ↑ Five Nights at Freddy’s Movie Being Produced by Blumhouse
10. ↑ 'Five Nights at Freddy's' Movie Adaptation Will Work, Says Producer Jason Blum
11. ↑ Five Nights At Freddy’s Movie Former Director Confirms He’s Not Involved
12. ↑ Chris Columbus To Write & Direct ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ For Blumhouse
13. ↑ ‘Five Nights at Freddy's Movie: Jason Blum Reveals Chris Columbus Is No Longer Directing, but the Film Is Still Happening
14. ↑ ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Movie Finds Its Director in Emma Tammi
15. ↑ Jason Blum: Five Nights at Freddy's Movie Coming "Pretty Soon"
16. ↑ ‘Five Night at Freddy’s’ Movie Script Scrapped, New Script in Works
17. ↑ Jason Blum Teases ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Movie and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop Involvement [Image]
18. ↑ Blumhouse’s ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’ Sets Josh Hutcherson & Matthew Lillard
19. ↑ ST. JUDE CHARITY STREAM 2022
20. ↑ Kat Conner Sterling Boards Blumhouse’s ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’
21. ↑ Elizabeth Lail Gets Ready For Blumhouse’s ‘Five Nights At Freddy’s’
22. ↑ Teaser Trailer: “Five Nights at Freddy’s”

## External Links

* *Five Nights at Freddy's* on Wikipedia
* *Five Nights at Freddy's* on Five Nights at Freddy's Wiki
* Five Nights at Freddy's on IMDb
* Five Nights at Freddy's on Twitter
* Five Nights at Freddy's on Facebook
* Five Nights at Freddy's on Peacock