The Five Nights at Freddy's 2 movie is seeing some interesting review statistics online, with professional critics leaving it at a terrible 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but hardcore fans of the franchise having a much more favorable opinion. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 just opened in theaters on December 5, and while the opening-night reviews look bad, support from the fan base could still turn it into a success.

This article may contain very light spoilers for Five Nights at Freddy's 2.

Originally created by Scott Cawthon, the Five Nights at Freddy's games started out as indie titles that had players stuck in a room, managing cameras, doors, flashlights, and the like to track killer animatronics and keep them at bay long enough for safety to arrive with the rising of the sun. The popularity of those early games exploded, leading to games of several different genres and, by 2023, the theatrical premiere of the franchise's first major film, produced by Cawthon and Jason Blum.

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By Catherine Armecin Martin

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Posts Great Numbers with Audiences, Not Critics

A little over two years later, and the Five Nights at Freddy's 2 movie has now hit the cinema scene, though not everyone has been amused by it. Its 11 percent on the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes is derived from close to 70 professional reviews, with critics panning it for a wide variety of reasons. Much of the criticism comes from the plot, which reviewers often found either confusing or filled with illogical decisions, while others chided it for being too boring and not featuring nearly the amount of action fans may expect from a horror film. Many were blunt with their critiques, such as My New Plaid Pants' Jason Adams, who mockingly described the film as "so absurdly tedious, so deathly dull, so flat and ugly and boring and offensively dumb, I refuse to believe there's even anybody standing behind the camera."

While that was one of the harsher critiques from the pros, scores from the public are telling a much different story, with Rotten Tomatoes' Popcornmeter registering Five Nights at Freddy's 2 at an 88 percent approval rating with more than 500 verified fan reviews recorded so far. A lot of these fan reviews express a deep interest in Five Nights at Freddy's lore, and after the first movie tweaked the plot of the games just enough to keep things interesting, some state that they're loving the plot of the sequel even more than the original.

Interestingly, many critics and fans seem well aware of the other side's justification for loving or hating Five Nights at Freddy's 2. While individual opinions of the film will vary, it contains plenty of elements that devoted followers of the FNAF franchise will likely find endearing. Just like the first movie's subtle allusions to Circus Baby, 8-bit minigames, Foxy's catchphrase, and more, there are plenty of Five Nights at Freddy's Easter eggs in the second film to keep fans' eyes darting around the screen. There's also the return of popular cast members including Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, and Matthew Lillard, along with a new role for YouTuber MatPat after his cameo character died in the first film. Additionally, while the first movie threw a curveball into the lineage of the Afton family, the sequel finally starts touching on the bloodline of Henry Emily, giving lore-seekers something new to sink their teeth into.

There's also the success of the first movie to take into consideration. Made with a budget of $20 million, Five Nights at Freddy's earned big at the box office when it released in 2023, with a domestic opening exceeding $80 million and worldwide revenue of nearly $291.5 million, as recorded by Box Office Mojo. Like its sequel, it posted a similar discrepancy on Rotten Tomatoes between its critical and fan reviews, with scores of 33 percent and 86 percent, respectively. It did have the benefit of coming out just before Halloween, which seems more fitting for a horror film than a December release date, but with a recognizable returning cast, fun cameos, triple the number of Five Nights at Freddy's animatronics, a die-hard fan base, and history on its side, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 could easily overcome a bad Rotten Tomatoes score and potentially surpass its predecessor.

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