28 Years Later is already breaking franchise records at the box office, and yet, there’s still some feeling of disappointment with its opening weekend returns. Coming out 18 years after the last installment in Danny Boyle’s zombie franchise, the new film from Sony, Boyle, and writer Alex Garland had favorable momentum to overperform its financial projections. 28 Years Later had one of the best trailers in recent memory, has a great cast, and the glowing reviews to incentivize viewers to check out the 2-hour R-rated action/thriller in theaters.

That is a big reason why 28 Years Later‘s box office projections for its opening weekend were fairly strong. By most accounts, the movie delivered on them. It finished in second place in the standings this weekend after earning $30 million domestically. 28 Years Later‘s opening weekend box office is even higher with the worldwide total sitting at $60 million, allowing the film to already earn back its budget. That’s a huge achievement in a short amount of time, especially with one sequel already filmed and another planned. But, the movie should have done even better, probably.

28 Years Later’s Opening Weekend Shattered The Franchise’s Box Office Record

The Previous Films Didn’t Stand A Chance

There is certainly some celebrating that’s appropriate with 28 Years Later‘s performance early on. The $30 million opening weekend is more than enough to break the franchise record. 28 Days Later held the record with its $10 million opening in 2002, as 28 Weeks Later came just shy of that total five years later when it made $9.8 million. It took 28 Years Later only one day to surpᴀss the previous films’ weekend totals. The new film made $14.1 million on Friday (including Thursday night previews).

Beating a franchise record at the box office is always noteworthy. In 28 Years Later‘s case, it now holds the franchise’s highest opening weekend at the box office, in addition to posting the biggest opening for Danny Boyle’s career. The movie didn’t just barely make more than the other 28 Days Later movies either, as it tripled the record in a sign of the increased interest from audiences to return to this world.

It gets better for 28 Years Later when its worldwide total is considered too. The movie has already made $60 million, which is nearly as much as the first two movies made overall. It only needs less than $15 million now to outgross 28 Days Later ($74.9 million) and 28 Weeks Later ($72.3 million). That will happen in the next few days, meaning it’ll shatter another major franchise box office record. It should have a good chance of breaking even or becoming profitable too, which would be a big win for Sony and the series.

28 Years Later’s Opening Box Office Came In On The Low Side Of Projections

It Didn’t Hit Its Ceiling

Notably, 28 Years Later did not exceed projections for its box office performance. It is more accurate to say that the movie hit its floor, meaning the lowest end of projections. Heading into the film’s opening weekend, box office tracking from various sources pointed to the film safely hitting $30 million. There was also some belief that the movie could use strong word of mouth and decreased direct compeтιтion from movies targeting adults/horror to go higher, possibly to $45 million.

While there is plenty of attention given to box office tracking and projections and the data behind them, they are not an exact science. It’s fairly common for movies to outperform industry predictions, especially in a case like 28 Years Later where it is a) part of a franchise, b) playing to a popular genre, like horror, and c) has excellent reviews. That is not what happened in this instance, though. The film instead effectively made its bare minimum, as the lowest tracking went was $28 million.

Why Didn’t 28 Years Later’s Opening Weekend Box Office Go Even Higher?

It Feels Slightly Disappointing

Taking nothing away from 28 Years Later‘s opening weekend records, I can’t help but feel somewhat disappointed by the final box office numbers for its debut. Yet, there are a few factors contributing to what seems like a lower-than-deserved opening for the film.

The way Sony handled the final wave of marketing and press is curious. The studio kept reviews embargoed until Wednesday, June 18 at 5pm EST, meaning the mostly glowing response only arrived one day before opening night. It’s odd that Sony would hold back on the film like this. Typically, studios only keep embargoes this late if it’s to try and preserve major spoilers or to hide the fact that the movie isn’t good. While 28 Years Later has some twists, the very positive reviews could have been used in the final marketing to further boost interest.

It’s also odd that this happened after Sony had some evidence to suggest people were really interested in the movie. 28 Years Later set a presales record for 2025 horror movies, yet it made substantially less than Final Destination Bloodlines ($51 million) and Sinners ($48 million). It seems that die-hard fans of the original two movies were ready for the third film, but casual audiences may not have been fully aware or interested. A stronger conclusion to the film’s marketing campaign, highlighting great reviews, and more could have boosted the final results.

Will 28 Years Later Have Good Legs At The Box Office Now?

Following this opening and the early response from audiences, its fair to wonder how strong 28 Years Later‘s legs will be. General audiences are more divided on the film’s quality than critics, as evident by the 65% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. But with major talking points emerging, including 28 Years Later‘s final scene, there’s an opportunity for curiosity to help drive more business. That is what the film needs to count on to boost box office sales.

Previously, the franchise has had solid legs at the box office. 28 Days Later had a 4.48x multiplier, while 28 Weeks Later‘s was 2.92x. If 28 Years Later can match the original film’s impressive legs, it will make $134 million domestically. It’d still make $87 million domestically if its legs are closer to the sequel. With international audiences helping boost the film’s total, there’s a chance the movie makes over $200 million worldwide, which would be a win for the franchise and Sony.

The question will be whether the movie can remain a draw for horror fans as summer brings more compeтιтion. M3GAN 2.0 has a wildly different tone, but its arrival this weekend could take away from 28 Years Later. The same could be said with F1 The Movie, even though it’s not horror, as it will likely be a big draw for male adults. Then, there’s Jurᴀssic World Rebirth and I Know What You Did Last Summer in July. It is not an easy road ahead for 28 Years Later, which is why its staying power will be so important.

The good news for the film is that its in a good position to be a success already. Even if the opening weekend number didn’t go above expectations like I thought was likely, it’s still a new franchise high and strong enough worldwide to recoup its cost. Hopefully, 28 Years Later does have incredible legs at the box office and keeps breaking franchise records.