Summary
When compared to a $291 million video game movie from 2023, theBorderlandsmovie somehow has a better and worse record.Borderlands' disappointing box office performancehas been well documented since the film was released worldwide. DespiteBorderlands' climactic endingsomewhat teasing future installments, it seems as though the overwhelmingly poor box office returns of the film will see the franchise be rendered dead on arrival. This box office was undoubtedly affected by thebad reviewsBorderlandsreceived, which evidently convinced many that this was a movie to be skipped.
Although some ofBorderlands' cast memberswere praised, the overall quality of the project was deemed unworthy of the source material. This sawBorderlandsgross only $8+ million on its opening weekend domestically, leading many to question if its fortunes would improve or if it would be rendered a devastating box office flop. As it turns out, it seems the latter is more likely.Borderlands' second weekend set another unwanted box office recordall while being reminiscent of one involving another video game from 2023, thoughBorderlandsintriguingly proves to be both better and worse than its peer.
Borderlands' Second Weekend Box Office Drop Is Better Than Five Nights At Freddy’s Last Year
Borderlands' Second Weekend Box Office Drop Broke Records
The record in question pertains toBorderlands’second-weekend box office drop. The film earned a lowly $2.3 million domestic haul in its second weekend, giving the film a 72% drop from its opening weekend. This set the record for the most drastic drop in 2024, above other box office bombs likeMadame WebandArgylle. This drop is only being applied to movies that are classed as wide-release movies, that being first-run movies that played in more than 2,000 theaters during both their first and second weekends.
$15.3 million (4013 theaters)
$5.9 million (4013 theaters)
61.4%
$17.5 million (3605 theaters)
$6.2 million (3605 theaters)
64.2%
$9.4 million (3356 theaters)
$3.3 million (3356 theaters)
64.8%
$45 million (4345 theaters)
$15.6 million (4345 theaters)
65.4%
$9.7 million (2642 theaters)
$3.3 million (2692 theaters)
65.9%
$6.7 million (2450 theaters)
$2.1 million (2370 theaters)
69.1%
$8.6 million (3125 theaters)
$2.35 million (3125 theaters)
72%
That said,Borderlands' second weekend box office drop was somehow not as bad as that ofFive Nights at Freddy’sfrom 2023. The two are somewhat comparable as they are both movie adaptations based on popular video games that had drastic second-weekend drop-offs.Five Nights at Freddy’sdropped over 76% in its second weekend in the latter months of 2023, one of the biggest of all time. Somehow,Borderlandsmanaged to avoid this despite its own issues.
Five Nights At Freddy’s Second Weekend Was Bigger Than Borderlands' First Two
Borderlands Still Looks Worse Than Five Nights At Freddy’s
However, on the flip side of the argument,Borderlandsstill looks worse thanFive Nights at Freddy’sbased on the minuscule box office earnings it is hauling in.Five Nights at Freddy’s' second weekend drop was only so big due to the promising opening weekend it had, earning around $80 million domestically upon its debut. The drop in its second weekend might have been a massive 76%, but it still earned a $19+ million box office haul, topping the charts.
DespiteFive Nights at Freddy’s suffering a historically poor second-weekend drop, the $19 million it earned domestically in those three days is more thanBorderlands' entire haul…
This makesBorderlandslook even worse.Borderlandsearned just over $2 million domestically in its second weekend, taking its worldwide earnings to $18.5 million. DespiteFive Nights at Freddy’s suffering a historically poor second-weekend drop, the $19 million it earned domestically in those three days is more thanBorderlands' entire haul, domestically and overseas, across two weeks. This proves how poorlyBorderlandsis performing in all territories.
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Cast
Five Nights at Freddy’s is an adaptation of the popular video game franchise of the same name, directed by Emma Tammi. The film centers around a maintenance worker handling night duties at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a children’s amusement center home to a grizzly tragedy in its history. The animatronics come to life at night, and the worker must survive until daybreak.
Why Five Nights At Freddy’s Performed So Much Better Than Borderlands At The Box Office
The Reasons For Borderlands' Poor Box Office Explained
Given the comparisons betweenFive Nights at Freddy’sandBorderlands, it is worth exploring why the former performed much more admirably than the latter. WhileFive Nights at Freddy’shad a poor second weekend, it still went on to gross a worldwide total of $291 million against a budget of only $20 million. WhereBorderlandsis concerned, it would be an incredibly tough ask for it to gain the legs it needs to recoup the production budget of roughly $120 million.
Firstly,one of the main factors that sawFive Nights at Freddy’soutperformBorderlandsis the difference in their reception. While both received poor reviews,Five Nights at Freddy’s'32% Rotten Tomatoes score is still better thanBorderlands' measly 10%. Furthermore,Borderlands’audience approval score is 53%, compared toFive Nights at Freddy’s'87%. The latter also has a CinemaScore of A- compared to the former’s D+, meaning audience word of mouth massively worked inFive Nights at Freddy’s’favor.
Five Nights at Freddy’s is also still prevalent as a game franchise, with multiple entries and spin-offs still being released between 2021 and 2025, whereas Borderlands' last mainline game entry was in 2019.
Similarly,Five Nights at Freddy’swas marketed more thanBorderlandswas. Trailers for the former were everywhere for a few months before its release, and it had next to no competition from big-budget films on either side of its August 04, 2025, release date.Borderlands, on the other hand, received less marketing and faced competition from blockbuster hits likeDeadpool & Wolverine, It Ends With Us,Twisters, andAlien: Romulus.Being a horror movie, the October release may have also benefitedFive Nights at Freddy’s’box office returns, giving another reason as to why it vastly outperformedBorderlands.
Borderlands
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
