While fans of the 28 Days Later franchise have long hoped for a proper return—ideally one that brings Cillian Murphy back into the fold—that comeback may now be in jeopardy. Sony’s confidence in continuing the series appears shaken after The Bone Temple delivered a strikingly poor opening weekend.
Most box-office pundits (including us) projected a modest $18–20 million opening over the MLK Day holiday. Instead, the film looks set to finish the four-day weekend at just $15 million, with the traditional three-day frame landing at an alarming $13 million.
For comparison, 28 Years Later opened to $30 million over three days. That’s a shocking drop.
Why Did Audiences Skip The Bone Temple?
The reason is fairly simple: many horror fans didn’t care for 28 Years Later, and that apathy carried over. Despite strong early buzz, audiences largely chose to sit this one out.
Even the fact that the film was handed off to a new director—Nia DaCosta—and boasts an impressive 94% Rotten Tomatoes score didn’t seem to move the needle. For many, this felt like a “wait for streaming” title.
Critics Loved It (And So Did Audiences Who Showed Up)
Ironically, those who did see The Bone Temple overwhelmingly loved it. The film earned an A-minus CinemaScore, an extremely rare grade for a horror release. The last genre title to pull that off was Weapons.
For context, I gave the film a 9/10, and one of our other critics, Tyler Nichols, only went because of that recommendation. He hated 28 Years Later and was convinced he’d hate this too—yet he ended up loving it so much that he wrote a full think piece, which we’ll be posting tomorrow.
Hopefully more moviegoers follow Tyler’s lead. Because if this box-office trajectory holds, it’s hard to see another theatrical sequel happening—unless Sony opts for a direct-to-streaming finale.
Avatar: Fire and Ash Holds Strong at #1
The Bone Temple’s loss proved to be Avatar: Fire and Ash’s gain. The third film in James Cameron’s saga earned $13.3 million, dropping just 38% from last weekend.
Its domestic total now stands at $363 million, with $400 million well within reach.
Zootopia 2 and The Housemaid Keep Cleaning Up
Zootopia 2 added another $8.7 million, pushing its domestic total to $390 million. Worldwide, it has now earned $1.7 billion, making it the ninth highest-grossing film of all time globally.
Meanwhile, The Housemaid continued its stellar run with $8.5 million, a slim 22% drop from last week. Its domestic total has crossed $107 million, and with a sequel shooting this spring, it wouldn’t be shocking to see a follow-up rushed into theaters for the same Christmas corridor next year.
A24 Breaks Its Own Record
A24 now has its biggest domestic hit ever, as Marty Supreme has surpassed Everything Everywhere All at Once, with it likely to cross the $80 million mark domestically by tomorrow.
The film placed fifth this weekend with $5.4 million, and a $100 million finish is very much in play.
Horror Drops, Re-Releases Rise
Paramount’s Primate suffered a steep 55% second-week drop, earning $5 million for a $19.5 million domestic total.
Surprisingly, the re-release of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended editions) performed well. The Fellowship of the Ring cracked the top ten with $3.58 million, despite limited showtimes. The Two Towers rounded out the top 10 with $2.4 million
The Rest of the Top 10
- Greenland 2: Migration dropped 60%, earning $3.3 million for a $14 million domestic total
- Anaconda added $3 million, bringing its run to $56 million
