"This is a movie for this fan base"- Matthew Lillard on Five Nights at Freddy's and its commercial success

It is now fair to say that Matthew Lillard has completely turned the scene around with his recent achievements, including starring in Five Nights at Freddy's, the most successful horror film of the year. Lillard also has a new improv show premiering on Amazon’s Freevee in the coming week, completing his turnaround from a phase of near stillness.

Even though Five Nights at Freddy's debuted on Peacock the same day it was released in theaters—a move that probably would have prevented the movie from earning a ton of money at the box office—it has been highly successful, opening as the highest-earning horror film of 2023, a year that was dominated by some fantastic indie and franchise horror films.

Five Nights at Freddy's has already surpassed $220 million globally, effectively making it extremely successful, and the film is not over with its run yet. It is largely because of the film's focus on the fans of the franchise, which resulted in such a warm response despite the lack of critical acclaim.

Speaking about this, Matthew Lillard said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

"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," he added.

He further elaborated on his own role.

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"The hard part about playing this part is the pressure I put on myself to honor the fans"- Matthew Lillard on his Five Nights at Freddy's role

Matthew Lillard is no stranger to horror roles, already having worked in franchises like Scream. However, this time, Five Nights at Freddy's put a whole different kind of expectation on Lillard—the replication of an iconic character who exists in a videogame.

Though it has been done by many before, the pressure on Matthew Lillard was to do it in a way that would impress the loyal fans of the franchise.

When asked about his character, Matthew Lillard said:

"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....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," he added.

Despite this, Matthew Lillard pulled off the role, and Five Nights at Freddy's did become a global success, possibly paving the way for more sequels and spinoffs in the feature, possibly featuring Lillard again.

Five Nights at Freddy's is now available for streaming on Peacock. It is also running in theaters across the United States.