Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is a 2025 American supernatural horror film based on the video game series Five Nights at Freddy's created by Scott Cawthon and the sequel to the 2023 film adaptation. The film was directed by Emma Tammi and written by Cawthon. Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, and Matthew Lillard reprise their roles from the previous film, with Mckenna Grace, Wayne Knight, and Skeet Ulrich joining the cast. Set a year and a half after the previous film, it follows Abby Schmidt (Rubio) as she is manipulated by the Marionette, an animatronic from the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, who plots revenge against adults.
Cawthon stated in August 2018 that there could be a second Five Nights at Freddy's film based on the events of the series' second game if the first film were successful. Hutcherson revealed the development of a sequel in January 2024, with Blumhouse Productions confirming it three months later. Principal photography began in November 2024 and concluded in February 2025 in New Orleans and surrounding communities.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on December 2, 2025, and was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on December 5. The film received negative reviews from critics but was a commercial success, grossing $240 million worldwide against a budget between $36–51 million.
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Plot
In 1982, at the first Freddy Fazbear's Pizza restaurant, Charlotte Emily witnesses its co-founder William Afton lure a boy into the back rooms to kill him. Her pleas for help are ignored by nearby parents, so she rescues the boy herself despite the protestations of her best friend Vanessa, William's daughter. Charlotte is fatally stabbed by William, falls through an onstage trapdoor, and is held by the Marionette animatronic. The incident is suppressed, and the restaurant is subsequently shut down. Another restaurant in the Freddy Fazbear's franchise opens some time later, where William murders five more children.
In 2002, two years after William was killed by the spirits of his victims at the franchise location, the legends of the murders spawn a horror festival called "Fazfest". Abby Schmidt misses her ghostly friends and repeatedly asks her older brother Mike to repair the animatronics they inhabited. Believing the spirits are dangerous and have moved on, Mike repeatedly makes excuses until Abby returns to the franchise location herself. Mike finds her there, apologizes for lying, and discovers a talking toy called the FazTalker. Meanwhile, the adult Vanessa struggles with the trauma of her father's crimes and abuse.
Ghost hunters Lisa, Alex, and Rob tour the original restaurant with its security guard Michael. Lisa finds and deactivates a music box, awakening the Marionette, which is possessed by Charlotte's vengeful spirit. The Marionette possesses Lisa, takes control of the restaurant's "Toy" animatronics, and kills Alex and Rob. Abby receives a message on the FazTalker from Toy Chica, whom she believes to be the Chica possessed by her friend from the franchise restaurant. She visits the original location, where Toy Chica helps her build a robot for a school science fair. Vanessa grows concerned for Abby's safety after learning this, but Mike dismisses her, having learned of Charlotte's murder and of Vanessa's connection to it.
Vanessa travels to the original restaurant, discovers the Marionette has awakened, and is captured by the possessed Lisa. However, the animatronics cannot leave unless their safeguards are disabled. Meanwhile, Abby's science project is destroyed by her unsupportive teacher, Mr. Berg. She returns to the original restaurant and disables the safeguards at Toy Chica's request to be her new project. While meeting with Charlotte's father Henry, Mike learns that Abby has gone missing from school. Mike heads to the original restaurant after Henry gives him a new music box to leave there for Charlotte.
Cast
Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt, a former security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza
Elizabeth Lail as Vanessa Shelly, a local police officer and William Afton's daughter.
Miriam Spumpkin plays a young Vanessa during the scenes set in the 1980s.
Piper Rubio as Abby Schmidt, Mike's younger sister
Freddy Carter as Michael Afton, a security guard at Freddy's, Vanessa's brother, and William's son
Theodus Crane as Jeremiah, Mike's former co-worker
Wayne Knight as Mr. Berg, Abby's middle school science teacher
Teo Briones as Alex, a paranormal activity hunter
Mckenna Grace as Lisa, a paranormal activity hunter
Skeet Ulrich as Henry Emily, the father of Charlotte Emily and business partner of William Afton
Matthew Lillard as William Afton, a serial killer, founder of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, and Vanessa and Michael's father
Kellen Goff as the voice of Toy Freddy. Goff also portrays an attendee at Faz-Fest and provides Foxy's scatting.
Megan Fox as the voice of Toy Chica
Matthew "MatPat" Patrick as the voice of Toy Bonnie. Patrick previously made a cameo appearance in the first film.
Production
Development
In August 2018, Scott Cawthon said that if the first film were to be successful, there could be a second film that follows the events of the second game. A sequel was revealed to be in development by Josh Hutcherson, the actor who portrayed the role of Mike Schmidt in the previous film, in January 2024. In April 2024, Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions officially confirmed the sequel, and that Jim Henson's Creature Shop would return to design animatronics for the film. In October 2024, Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, and Matthew Lillard were confirmed to reprise their roles; the latter of whom had signed a three-picture deal with the studios.
In April 2025, Wayne Knight, Mckenna Grace, and Teo Briones joined the cast in undisclosed roles. Skeet Ulrich, who previously starred alongside Lillard in Scream (1996), later joined the cast in a then-undisclosed role. On October 10, 2025, Kellen Goff, Megan Fox, and Matthew Patrick were announced as the voices of the animatronics.
Writing
Scott Cawthon was the sole screenwriter; he had already co-written the first film, alongside Seth Cuddeback and Emma Tammi. Matthew Lillard stated that the production crew had carefully addressed fan feedback from the first film, hinting that the film might include more action and jump scares as well as an "amped-up" story. According to Blum, the script for the sequel required only four or five drafts compared to the first film, which had around fourteen.
Tammi stated that she hopes for the film to be special and unexpected while focusing on what the fans want, hinting a lot of Easter eggs and references, though she also believes that casual audiences can still follow and enjoy the film even if they "don't understand all the layers."
Filming
Principal photography was expected to start in late October 2024. At New York Comic-Con on October 17, Matthew Lillard stated that filming would start in "10 days", putting the filming date at October 27 specifically. Filming began by November 2024 and wrapped in February 2025, with Lyn Moncrief serving as the cinematographer.
Release
In August 2025, an attraction based on the first film was added to Universal's Halloween Horror Nights to promote the second film. A limited-time promotion with Fanta was released around the same time. On November 17, Popeyes released a promotional meal for the movie. A set of photos were leaked online in January 2025.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on December 2, 2025, and was released in the United States on December 5, by Universal Pictures. The film was released on digital on December 23, 2025, and was released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 17.
Reception
Box office
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has grossed $127.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $111.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $239.6 million. It was produced on a budget of $36–51 million.
In the United States and Canada, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opened on December 5, 2025. It made $24.5 million on its first day, including $7.2 million in Thursday night previews. The film grossed $64 million in its opening weekend, reaching number 1 at the domestic box office. In its second weekend, the film grossed $19.4 million, ranking second for a decline of -69.7%, and later grossed $7.7 million in its third weekend, dropping to sixth for a decline of -60.5%.
Critical response
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 received negative reviews from critics, who deemed that it was more ambitious than its predecessor, but fell flat on both storytelling and scares. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of 131 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "A step down from an already clunky original, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 goes through the motions with all the grace of a malfunctioning animatronic." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 26 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the first film's "A−" grade.
In his review for the Associated Press, Mark Kennedy gave the film zero stars out of four, deriding it as "an incoherent mess", having "an after-school special vibe with no real horror and no real awareness that it should". The A.V. Club offered a harsher critique, citing the film's pacing, exposition, and difficulty balancing horror elements with its dense mythos, ultimately calling it a disappointing follow-up that struggles to stand on its own. In a negative review, Cody Dericks of Next Best Picture criticized the film's screenplay, storytelling, and reliance on fan service, calling it "perhaps the worst film of the year" and stating that it offered "nothing of value" beyond the animatronics. He ultimately awarded the sequel a score of 1 out of 10. Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times criticized the film as a "laughably cheesy" and "empty-headed" sequel, arguing that its script, dialogue, pacing, and lack of tension make it inferior to the first film. He described the set pieces as "thrill-free," the acting as "subpar", and the animatronics as often "silly and toothless," concluding that the sequel is suited "for die-hards only."
James Mottram of NME awarded the film 1 out of 5 stars, calling it a "sauceless" and "dismal" sequel that lacks originality, scares, and humor. He criticized its lore expansion and what he described as one of the "poorest movies of 2025". Owen Gleiberman of Variety acknowledged the film's stronger visuals and polished production values compared to its predecessor, but argued that its "excess of subplots" and heavy reliance on franchise lore might alienate casual audiences. In his review for The Guardian, Jesse Hassenger described Five Nights at Freddy's 2 as one of the worst films of the year, calling it "inept game-based horror". Nick Schager of The Daily Beast called the film "one of the worst video-game movies ever," criticizing its screenplay and what he described as "fright-free mush" that fails to build on the original. He argued that the sequel relied on jump scares, underwritten characters, and inconsistent mythology, concluding that it "makes no effort to be frightening or engaging." The Hollywood Reporter review by Frank Scheck described the film as a sequel that largely repeated its predecessor.
