Is the ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ movie free to stream on Peacock?

Once upon a time on a streaming service far, far away, there used to be a free, ad-supported tier on Peacock. In this long-ago land, Five Nights at Freddy’s might have been free to stream, but in this present-day dystopian future, nothing is as it seems.

Five Nights at Freddy’s, a Universal Pictures film based on the popular horror video game of the same name, will make its cinematic debut on Oct. 25 in the U.K. and Oct. 27 in the U.S. If you’ve poked around the internet at all recently, you may have noticed that Peacock will also offer the movie on its platform starting Oct. 26. 

Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) will play Mike Schmidt, a security guard hired to look after Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a once-popular ’80s arcade and pizzeria that’s gone down the drain. Piper Rubio (Unstable) will play Abby, Mike’s younger sister who accompanies him on the job. And the one and only horror movie icon Matthew Lillard (Scream) will play Steve Raglan, Mike’s career counselor. Additional cast members include Elizabeth Lail (You), Mary Stuart Masterson (Blindspot), Kat Conner Sterling (A Week Away), and Lucas Grant (The Patient). 

How can you watch this movie for free on Peacock, you ask? Well, that’s a trick question, unfortunately. 

Can you stream Five Nights at Freddy’s for free on Peacock?

When Peacock flew onto the streaming scene in 2020, it was one of the only platforms offering a completely free, ad-supported tier. Fast forward three years to Feb. 2023, and that changed for good, as the company announced it was no longer offering the budget-friendly option to new subscribers, per Variety. 

Subscribers who initially signed up with the free tier still have limited-time access to it, but as a push to get more people to upgrade, Peacock is only allowing exclusive content such as Five Nights at Freddy’s to subscribers of paid tiers. 

That means if you want to stream Blumhouse’s latest horror offering, you’ll need to upgrade to either Peacock’s $6 Premium tier or its $12 Premium Plus tier. If you already have one of these tiers, you’re fine. But if you were looking to get scared for free, then it’s all tricks and no treats for you, sorry. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s premiere in theaters on Oct. 25 in the U.K., Oct. 27 in the U.S., and Oct. 26 on Peacock.