Universal Pictures has officially set the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 digital release date, revealing when the highly anticipated follow-up to Blumhouse‘s 2023 supernatural horror movie will be available to watch at home.
“One year has passed since the supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The stories about what transpired there have been twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town’s first-ever Fazfest. Former security guard Mike and police officer Vanessa have kept the truth from Mike’s 11-year-old sister, Abby, concerning the fate of her animatronic friends,” reads the official synopsis. “But when Abby sneaks out to reconnect with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy, it will set into motion a terrifying series of events, revealing dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy’s, and unleashing a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades.”
When is the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 digital release date?
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is set to release on digital platforms on December 23, 2025, when the movie will be available to rent or purchase across other platforms. A few months later, on February 17, 2026, the movie will release on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD.
The film’s digital release also comes with a litany of exclusive bonus features when you purchase at participating retailers. The exclusive bonus features include:
EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH: THE CAST – Revealing interviews and behind-the-scenes footage highlight how actors develop their roles to fill the FNAF world with new mysteries, thrilling surprises, and fan-pleasing lore.
BRINGING FREDDY & FRIENDS TO LIFE – Learn how stunt doubles and puppeteers advance animatronic terror to the next level.
MANGLE MAYHEM – Witness Mangle come to life as a nightmarish, multi-limbed monstrosity.
HIGH-STRUNG – Cast and crew reveal the multiple methods used to turn the Marionette into an eerie entity whose unique design and haunting movements are unlike any other animatronic.
SENSORY OVERLOAD: EXPLORING THE SETS – Actors join the artists behind the production design to serve up details on the Easter eggs and game inspirations lurking inside the incredible sets.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is directed by Emma Tammi from a screenplay written by original game creator Scott Cawthon. The ensemble cast also includes Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, Freddy Carter, Theodus Crane, Wayne Knight, Mckenna Grace, Teo Briones, Skeet Ulrich, and Matthew Lillard.
The movie is executive-produced by Tammi, Beatriz Sequeira, Christopher Warner, Russell Binder, and Marc Mostman, with Jason Blum and Cawthon serving as producers.
Scream 7 arrives in United States theaters in February 2026 from Paramount Pictures. Directed by Kevin Williamson, the movie stars Lillard, Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, Isabel May as Tatum Evans, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin, Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin, Joel McHale as Mark Evans, and more.
What did Matthew Lillard say about Scream 7?
Speaking with ComingSoon in an exclusive interview, Lillard said that Scream 7 is “testing through the roof” following some test screenings.
He explained when asked about how it feels to come back to the Scream franchise and work with Williamson again, “It was awesome. The reality is that I remember where I was when I got the phone call. I remember in the park, exactly where it happened. Seeing the phone call from Kevin Williamson. We had seen each other at a party like three weeks beforehand at Mike Flanagan’s house. I was like, ‘What is he calling me for? That’s so strange.’ He was talking about going in and doing Scream 7. And even at the party, he was like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to go shoot the movie, I’m going to direct it.’ I was like, ‘That’s incredible.’ And he never mentioned anything. But we got on the phone and was like, ‘Do you want to come back and play with us?’ I was like, ‘You bastard, you could have said something like three weeks ago!’
“Look, I’m excited. What I’m most excited about is I think the movie, with Kevin involved and with Neve back — listen, I love the Radio Silence guys. I thought Melissa Barrera was fantastic. But I’m excited to see where this new iteration of Scream goes. The movie is testing through the roof, I think people are going to love it, and I think fans are going to lose their minds. It’s very fun.”
The official synopsis for Scream 7 reads, “When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter (Isabel May) becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.”
Scream 7 will be released in United States theaters on February 27, 2026.
Matthew Lillard surprised fans during Cinespia’s “Scream” Halloween party screening on Friday night, and while talking to the crowd, he shared an emboldened message to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Fuck ICE,” Lillard said. “In this time, in this city, we need to lead with love. Do not forget that shit in this moment. Not to be political, but to be political as shit.”
He also encouraged fans to vote for Prop 50, which allows California to redraw its congressional districts to combat redistricting in Texas.
“Yes to 50. You have to vote. If you don’t vote, we are going down. So it’s on us. And if you don’t like that, I’m so not sorry,” he added.
Lillard stars in “Scream” as Stu Macher, who makes up the two-man killing team in Wes Craven’s 1996 horror masterpiece along with Skeet Ulrich’s Billy Loomis. Lillard is set to return for “Scream 7” alongside fellow original cast members Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox.
Ever since Donald Trump took office, ICE has remained top of mind for many in the U.S., and Hollywood is no exception. In early October, Jeff Bridges appeared as his iconic “Big Lebowski” character, The Dude, on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to proclaim, “Let’s get ICE off our streets and into our beverages, man.”
Late-night satires like “South Park” and “Saturday Night Live” have also taken plenty of jabs at ICE. For example, the cold open on the Oct. 8 episode of “SNL” featured host Amy Poehler and Tina Fey as United States Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, respectively. During the sketch, Fey’s noem gave some context on how they hire people for ICE: “How did I find them? By running ads like this: Do you need a job now? Yeah. Are you a big, tough guy? Yeah. Tough enough for the army or police? No. Do you take supplements that you bought at a gas station? Daily. Do you like to use zip ties because people in your life don’t trust you with keys? You know it. Suck on some of these, big boy. Welcome to ICE.”
The time has come! The leaves are changing colors, the stores are starting to smell like cinnamon, and everything pumpkin is available at our fingertips! All of this could only mean one thing, and it’s that our favorite way to end our day is with one of these movies for the foreseeable future!
Halloweentown (1998)
You simply can’t go through the fall/Halloween season without watching Halloweentown. It would be borderline criminal. There is nothing quite like the music that plays when the Cromwell kids first enter Halloweentown, seeing Debbie Reynolds be the greatest movie grandmother of all time, or seeing the quaint town of St. Helens, Oregon, transform on screen into our dream location.
Practical Magic (1998)
This movie is as close to perfect as a movie has ever been. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman light up on screen and bring such warmth and whimsy into the film. This movie features the best song placement in our memory with ‘This Kiss’ by Faith Hill, and features a quote we have lived by ever since. So remember, always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck, and fall in love whenever you can.
A murder mystery featuring Chris Evans as the villain, Daniel Craig as the detective, and a career-high performance from Ana de Armas? Count us in! This movie does a perfect job at keeping you guessing, yet if you watch it again, you will see each clue that led up to the reveal clear as day. It’s the ideal fall family watch with a star-studded cast.
Beetlejuice (1988)
Beetlejuice is synonymous with the spooky season. Like clockwork, the calendar turns to October and we are set ready to sing along to some Harry Belafonte and remember what sparked our love for obscure art and tiny replicas. Beetlejuice has become a cultural mainstay; you can’t go into any Halloween section without seeing the face of Michael Keaton looking back at you, as it should be.
Twilight (2008)
It is officially Twilight season! We have ‘Eyes on Fire’ by Blue Foundation on repeat, we are relishing in the rainy days, and we are falling right back into a time when the only choice we had to make that held weight was if we were Team Edward or Team Jacob. This movie launched the careers of some of the best working actors today, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, so technically, we have Stephanie Meyer to thank for the best Batman movie!
Hocus Pocus (1993)
We know we said Beetlejuice is synonymous with spooky season, but Hocus Pocus gives it a run for its money! From the endless quotes that have become a normal part of the cultural zeitgeist to the Sanderson Sisters being on every piece of merch imaginable, there is no escaping what a timeless film Hocus Pocus has evolved into.
Scooby-Doo (2002)
Scooby-Doo may just be the best casted movie of all time. They nailed every single role and crafted the world of Spooky Island in a way that made it feel real. We still think not making Spooky Island into a real amusement park was a miss of epic proportions. We actually are going to go watch this movie right now, and relish in what masterpiece it is.
Check out more of our Fall/Halloween coverage here!
We would love to hear from you! What is your comfort fall–time movie? Is it Hocus Pocus? Is it Twilight? Let us know by commenting below or by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
His latest film, Five Nights at Freddy’s, is smashing box office and streaming records, he has a new improv show premiering on Amazon’s Freevee next week, his Quest’s End whiskey sold out its first drop, and he runs a luxury gaming company, Beadle & Grimm’s, with four of his close friends.
“This is a really lovely little comeback moment for me,” Lillard tells The Hollywood Reporter, before reconsidering that sentiment. “I sort of want to quote LL [Cool J], ‘Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.’”
Lillard is no stranger to a successful franchise, of course, having starred in Scream and Scooby-Doo — but the overwhelming success of the film adaptation of a popular video game about a haunted restaurant called Freddy Fazbear’s isn’t lost on him.
Freddy’s scared up an astounding $80 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend — even with a day-and-date release on Peacock. The film from Universal and Blumhouse set an all-time record for Halloween weekend, is the biggest horror opening so far in 2023, and is the third highest ever for the genre (behind only New Line’s It films). It has passed $220 million globally — and in the first five days of its release became the most-watched Peacock title ever.
“It’s exciting to be a part of this thing that has become an international sensation,” Lillard says. “I realize that these opportunities don’t come around that often. It’s been a really rich, joyful moment because I can sort of sit back and appreciate it on a deeper level.”
In his first interview about the film post-strike, Lillard spoke with THR about the pressure of playing an iconic monster and explained Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! in a way even D&D newbies can understand.
[The following Q&A contains spoilers for Five Nights at Freddy’s.]
Lillard in Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Did you expect this kind of reaction to Five Nights at Freddy’s?
When I got the offer to do the movie, it was an incoming call. Basically, the proposition was go sit with [director] Emma Tammi, and if you guys get along, and you want to do the movie, you’ll get the offer. Every time that happens in my life, it usually means the movie’s pretty bad. At this point in my career, it’s not like I’m out there just getting Academy Award opportunities. I have to fight for those great roles. We met, and she explained the character, and he’s the Voldemort in the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe.
I came home, and I was talking to my wife about it, and my middle child was sitting there, and they heard me say Five Nights of Freddy’s and were like, “Wait, who are you playing?” I said, “William Afton and some rabbit.” And they were like, “Dad. That is going to be huge!” Then, my son came in, and he affirmed the exact same thing. The fact that the two of them agreed on something was crazy.
Scott Cawthon, the game designer, said to me at some point, “In a year or two, nobody’s going to be able to picture this character without it being related to you.” I kind of brushed that off as hyperbole. I took the job — and at conventions I immediately I saw my line triple in size. Every third kid would come up saying, “I cannot wait for you to be a part of this movie and this franchise. We’ve been waiting eight years for the film.” They were so excited. You start seeing projections coming out for the movie — and, in the back of my mind, I was like, “I think it’s going to be way bigger.” I’m in the trenches at these conventions. Kids come up to me all the time. Cut to early projections being $40 million and then doing $80 million on the first weekend. It was remarkable and super exciting.
I went into it cold. I knew it was based on a video game, but I didn’t know anything other than that. Finding out you were the villain was a fun twist for people who were not familiar with the game.
It’s really interesting. Jason Blum said multiple times that this is a movie that is built for the fans. I think he’s right. They weren’t that concerned with whether [other] people like the movie, and I think they were right with the idea of like, “Hey man, this isn’t a movie for everyone. This is a movie for this fan base, and we are going to bet that they’re going to come out and support it.” Their bet was 100 percent on the mark, and I think that they did a great job appealing to that community in an authentic way.
For people who are not familiar with the game, how would you describe your character?
I play a character that is living in plain sight in the world, and he is a horrible monster. Toward the end of the film, when my daughter can’t handle a situation, I have to step in and take over. I do not accomplish that goal and end up meeting my demise. It’s the first step in a journey that has this rich canon that spans multiple video games. I play a monster who, at the end of the day, gets his comeuppance and is thrown into this horror realm that he created.
The hard part about playing this part is the pressure I put on myself to honor the fans, to deliver a great performance in an iconic role. There are millions of kids worldwide, and people that started playing as kids and are now adults, that have an expectation that this film will deliver on a really great level. So, being this iconic bad guy, the amount of pressure I put on myself to not suck is pretty extraordinary. That’s the hardest part.
What did you think of it being PG-13? I think it was very, very smart. A PG-13 scary movie on Halloween weekend that’s based on an extremely popular video game.
Yeah, it turns out that’s a recipe for success. I think it’s on-brand for what the game is. There’s a tension to it. There is a jump scare factor to it. It doesn’t have to be violent to be scary. So, I think the PG-13 is right. I’m going to give all the credit to Scott and to Emma. Most other people would try to get away from the IP and make something more scary, and look for a more traditional road to success. In a movie like this, they’d push the horror, they’d push the gore, they’d push the violence. To both of their credits, they adhered to what was needed for this community. It’s not very often that you get to hold onto your North Star in the creative process, and I think they did a good job of establishing a goal and successfully delivering on what they wanted to do.
What did your kids say?
I think they’re more chuffed that I’m in the movie than with the performance in the movie. My middle kid called me crying because they were so happy for me when the movie came out. They went to the movie with all their friends, and I think they were very proud of me being a part of it. It was important to me, and I think it was fun for my family. I haven’t been in a movie that’s appeared in a movie theater since they can remember. For me, personally, it has been a very humbling moment in my career. I’m 53, and I’ve had a couple franchises in my career that have been successful. I [had thought] maybe that part of my career is dead and over, and that’s fine. I’m still doing all kinds of fun stuff, and I’m really excited about the things I’m doing. To get this opportunity out of the blue to have another franchise that could make a real impact on my career is humbling and exciting, and my kids are thrilled.
The strike’s been over for like 36 hours, so I’m sure they’re already talking to you about a sequel.
This is the first conversation I’ve had about the movie ever. We couldn’t do press the entire time. So, the idea that we’re sitting here having this conversation is amazing because that movie opened day-and-date with Peacock, which didn’t hurt the opening, but it certainly hurt the second weekend, and I’m sure it’s going to hurt this weekend. We weren’t able to support it. All those traditional avenues of publicity weren’t available to us. I’m excited to see when they greenlight the second movie, the plan we put together to make it even bigger and even more successful.
What was it like for you to not be able to talk about something you’re excited about? I saw the video that you made on Instagram for your fans where you’re like “I can’t talk about this thing, but thank you for your support.“
I have so many more things going on in my life right now than I’ve ever had, and the good news is that I’ve learned not to seek out validation from this godforsaken industry. It feels great, but the reality is I have a Dungeons & Dragons company that’s launching a new TV show on Freevee that I am just as excited about. I just launched my own whiskey company on Oct. 8, and it was so successful we’re reissuing the first drop. We just did a poetry slam for kids living at Five Acres, an event that my wife and I created together. Those are the things that I put my energy into. Those are the things that I seek satisfaction from. I don’t think you can survive in this industry looking for validation from film and television because it’s just too fickle. If I was depending on that sort of affirmation, I wouldn’t still be acting. I would be doing something else.
Being 53 years old — and being around the block a couple times — I have a much deeper sense of appreciation in this moment than I probably have ever had because I didn’t expect it. I realize that these opportunities don’t come around that often. It’s been a really rich, joyful moment because I can sort of sit back and appreciate it on a deeper level.
Tell me about the Freevee show and explain it to me as someone who has never played Dungeon & Dragons.
Here’s the good news: We are the onboarding show for everyone who’s never played D&D, who is D&D curious. I have a Dungeon & Dragons company that I started five years ago with my four best friends called Beadle & Grimm’s. We make high-end box editions for games like Dungeons & Dragons or Critical Role or Pathfinder or Magic: The Gathering. We created this niche of luxury game accessories for ultimate geeks. That company is thriving. We came up with an idea called Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! It’s very rules-light, and we pitched it as Whose Line is it Anyway? meets Dungeons & Dragons. It’s an improv comedy show that is a one-hour D&D love letter.
Lillard in Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!.
What does the title mean?
It’s a riff off of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, which is the Russ Meyer movie from the ’60s. It’s campy, it’s silly, and that’s kind of the tone of the show. Every episode is the story of four first-level characters, which is the basic level, very newbie characters. It’s a story of these four heroes going off into the world and, unfortunately for them, they run into a legendary Dungeons & Dragons monster like Tiamat the Dragon, or like a purple worm, and get completely obliterated.
I know it sounds really weird, but the show is super funny. At the end of the day, it’s about what people do when faced with their ultimate demise. What does a hero look like? Every episode has moments of people having real human connection points. One of the last episodes we did, the conceit of the show is a family is trying to resurrect a father, and they want him to sign off on this will. My dad is very sick with dementia. It’s horrible, a horrible experience and, in the show, I was playing this character who’s desperate to hug his father one more time. As we were going through the game, I was getting deeply connected to my own experience with my own dad.
At the end of the show, we do this thing called the epitaph. These characters get wiped out. What are the things your friends say about you on the day of your death? People get connected to their characters, and they have this really sweet moment at the end of these shows. Anyway, at the end of the show where I was trying to hug my dad, I couldn’t get a word out. I was sobbing. Everyone ended up in tears. The incredible thing about Dungeons & Dragons is that it’s a game that is really about sitting around a table and telling stories, and you end up connecting to that story. In this moment, I had this deep connection to what was happening and I had a real reaction that was cathartic and emotional. I think that sort of encapsulates the beauty of the game and the beauty of the show.
Is there anything else that you especially want people to know about right now?
I would love to talk about my whiskey company. We created this company called Find Familiar Spirits, and the idea is that we are building high-end whiskey experiences around fandoms. We just dropped something called Quest’s End, and it’s a gaming whiskey. Each box comes with a story. We drop four different bottles every year and each bottle has the continuation of the story. The idea of building something high-end and luxury for fans, not appealing to all four quadrants, but going after hyper-specific communities and speaking to them in an authentic way, I think is super powerful. We do that with Beadle & Grimm’s. We’re doing that with the whiskey company. I think it relates to why Scott and Five Nights has been so successful. When you give a community that feels like they are outsiders something special, something curated, that community will come out and support it. I think that’s a really powerful lesson.
Five Nights At Freddy’s, often abbreviated as FNAF, is a hugely popular horror game series. Blumhouse is cashing in, and now we have an authentic look at it.
The series was created as an app by Scott Cawthon, who wrote and programmed the first entry in the series in 6 months. The story behind its development is actually a very interesting one.
Initially, Scott Cawthon created Christian-oriented games. Five Nights At Freddy’s was born out of an earlier game, called Chipper and Sons Lumber Co. While it was intended to be a family-friendly outing, it ended up terrifying players inadvertently.
Cawthon was initially unhappy with that reception until he went out of his way to make something intentionally scary. Five Nights At Freddy’s was released, and it quickly went viral after gaining a large player base among Let’s Players. As the game picked up steam, Cawthon continued producing sequels and spin-offs until an entire media empire was born.
There have been unofficial attempts to adapt Five Nights At Freddy’s loosely, such as the 2021 action horror comedy Willy’s Wonderland. That being said, Scott Cawthon is working closely with Blumhouse to make this film as accurate a representation of the source material as can be.
“Universal Pictures will release Blumhouse’s FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S on Friday, October 27, 2023 wide. The film will also premiere day-and-date with theatrical on Peacock.
About FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S Can you survive five nights?
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 a troubled security guard as he begins working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. While spending his first night on the job, he realizes the night shift at Freddy’s won’t be so easy to make it through.
Starring Josh Hutcherson (Ultraman, The Hunger Games franchise), Matthew Lillard (Good Girls, Scream), Elizabeth Lail (You, Mack & Rita), Kat Conner Sterling (We Have A Ghost, 9-1-1), Piper Rubio (Holly & Ivy, Unstable) and Mary Stuart Masterson (Blindspot, Fried Green Tomatoes). 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 and Christopher H. Warner. Universal Pictures presents a Blumhouse production, in association with Striker Entertainment”.
The Most Anticipated Movies of 2023`
Here are 20 of the biggest and most exciting titles coming to theaters in 2023.
