What is the budget of Five Nights at Freddy's?

"Five Nights at Freddy's," a horror released in 2023, was directed by Emma Tammi and stars Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio. The production budget was $20,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for horror productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a horror production like this include:

Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup: Horror productions invest disproportionately in practical effects , prosthetic applications, animatronics, blood and gore effects, and creature suits. A single hero creature suit can cost $50,000 to 200,000.
Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography: Creating dread through environment is essential. Abandoned locations must be secured and dressed, lighting rigs designed for shadow and tension, and sets built to enable specific camera movements and reveals.
Sound Design & Score: Horror is arguably the most sound-dependent genre. Foley work, ambient textures, frequency manipulation, and jump-scare stingers require specialized sound designers working with unconventional techniques.

What were the major cost factors in Five Nights at Freddy's?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Five Nights at Freddy's."

Practical Effects: Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
Atmospheric Production Design: Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
Sound Design: Sound Design & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.

How Does Five Nights at Freddy's's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $20,000,000, Five Nights at Freddy's sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

12 Years a Slave (2013): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $187,000,000
21 Grams (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $60,427,839
3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $11,798,854
A Guy Thing (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,400,000
A Most Violent Year (2014): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $12,007,070

The median budget for wide-release horror films in the 2020s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Five Nights at Freddy's Box Office Performance

"Five Nights at Freddy's" earned $137,275,620 domestically and $297,242,145 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $20,000,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Five Nights at Freddy's," that break-even threshold was roughly $40,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $297,242,145, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $20,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $297,242,145
Net Return: $277,242,145
ROI: approximately 1386.2%

At 1386.2%, "Five Nights at Freddy's" earned roughly $14.86 for every $1 invested in production.