'Five Nights at Freddy's' is a record-breaking horror hit. Audiences explain why

Warning: This post contains light spoilers for “Five Nights at Freddy's.”

"Five Nights at Freddy's" is breaking multiple box-office records in its first week in theaters. The supernatural horror movie opened in the number-one spot on Oct. 27, unseating Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” concert film.

Its bigger-than-expected $80 million domestic earnings tie with Marvel Studios' "Black Widow" (2021) for the biggest opening for a day-and-date offering in history.

And that's despite the fact that the movie premiered simultaneously on Peacock, where it quickly became the most watched entertainment title in the streaming service’s history. Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, TODAY’s parent company.

Directed by Emma Tammi, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is based on the popular video game series of the same name created by Scott Cawthon and released in 2014. It arrived with a built-in audience, and its PG-13 rating is also helping to draw in a younger fan base.

The movie tells the story of down-on-his-luck security guard Mike Schmidt (Josh Hutcherson), who’s been hired to work the graveyard shift in an abandoned pizza parlor.

Soon enough, Mike learns the place is populated by Chuck E. Cheese-type characters who've gone evil. The robots appear to have been involved in the long-ago kidnapping of Mike's brother, and they're now after Mike's little sister Abby (Piper Rubio).

Longtime fans of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" game series who saw the movie during opening week couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

“It was indeed overwhelming seeing your childhood game turn into a well-crafted movie," one wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Other were proud of the movie's box-office success.

"NUMBER 1 IN THEATERS," one wrote.

Many fans appear to be having an interactive experience with the movie, proudly sharing images of themselves dressed up in cosplay at theaters, or showing off original artwork depicting the movie's characters.

Some fans cheered after seeing YouTube gaming stars MatPat and Coryxkenshin make surprise cameos in the film.

"We went to see it last night. My grandkids loved it. Every kid in the theater clapped when they saw @CoryxKenshin," wrote one.

But, of course, not everyone has loved "Five Nights at Freddy's." Some gamers have voiced their displeasure that the movie has deviated from the video games' lore.

"I’m not sure how people are actually enjoying this movie tbh. Like don’t get me wrong it’s not terrible but it’s not great either. I’m sure they put a lot of work into it, but it didn’t feel like the games and didn’t really work with the lore. Felt really cheesy and janky," one wrote.

Other were just left underwhelmed.

"solid 6.5, a good movie, not great. not groundbreaking, not a bad movie. It was a good movie. I was just expecting way more action and animatronics," wrote one.

But many of those who did enjoyed the movie are, perhaps unsurprisingly, expecting sequels.

"I hope there is a sequel to five nights at Freddy’s because I loved the movie," one wrote.

"When’s the next one coming out?" asked another.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com