Why did a fight break out at an early screening of ‘Fight Nights at Freddy’s?’ The tussle, explained

Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s adaptation is barely available to view, and it’s already the subject of some harsh opinions.

Harsh enough to prompt a brawl, it would seem. Footage of an audience tussle hit the web just ahead of the film’s official release and quickly sparked theories about what caused the disagreement. Were people upset about the film itself? Were they lashing out at noisy neighbors? Or is there something else entirely behind the violent audience reaction to Five Nights at Freddy’s?

The Five Nights at Freddy’s fight

The fight apparently broke out at a pre-screening for Five Nights at Freddy’s, since the film isn’t officially out in the States. That is unless the footage comes from the U.K. The flick was released to U.K. theaters several days ahead of the U.S. — on Oct. 25, instead of 27 — which would explain how viewers were able to get into the flick early.

Regardless of where it was filmed, the brief footage shows a fight break out among audience members just as the Five Nights at Freddy’s credits begin to roll. As children’s sketches of the FNAF characters go past in the background, what appears to be an entire row of audience members can be seen tussling, almost all of them in dark hoodies. The clip only lasts eight seconds and gives very little context as to who is fighting and why, but it’s causing plenty of stir among soon-to-be FNAF viewers.

What caused the fight?

There’s very little indication of what sparked the Five Nights at Freddy’s fight, but people over on Reddit have some theories. One Redditor posed their speculation that the fight occurred in the U.K., where the film is already in theaters. They noted, past plenty of caveats about the overall safety of the country, that fights like this aren’t uncommon among certain citizens. According to user Shronkster_, “these look to be your standard, run of the mill, chav/scally/roadmen types, and probably went specifically to beat this guy up.” Their theory largely stipulates that the fight had nothing to do with FNAF, but instead had to do with a simple beef between viewers.

There’s also the possibility that the reaction was in response to a particularly rude theatergoer. A salty viewer may have plenty of complaints after sitting behind, or next to, a noisy, rude, or phone-obsessed audience member, and those emotions could easily boil over once the credits roll.

Another user proposed perhaps the most likely scenario of all. While the link they added no longer functions, user EvilAaube claims that the fight wasn’t a fight at all. Instead, they believe it’s a skit involving “some dumbass disrespectful kids jumping on each other during the credits.” There was apparently a video showing the “fighter’s POV” on TikTok, but the video has since been taken down. Considering how many phones are out during the fight, however, it seems like a particularly likely possibility.

Regardless of what precisely prompted the fight, there’s no arguing with the fact that it’s a disrespectful place to get so rowdy. Movie theaters are crowded, dark, and often full of children, and they are a singularly bad place to be brawling. If it was, in fact, a staged tussle, let’s hope the people involved — and any potential copycats — recognize the folly in their actions and pick a better location for their next staged brawl.