28 Years Later has broken an unfortunate record for the horror franchise. The new movie, which was helmed by original director Danny Boyle, reuniting with screenwriter Alex Garland, is the third installment in the post-apocalyptic horror franchise, which follows the Rage virus ravaging the British Isles.
The 28 Years Later release follows the previous installment, 28 Weeks Later, by 23 years. That 2007 sequel in turn came five years after the original installment, 2002’s 28 Days Later.
Per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, as of Saturday morning, 28 Years Later is projected to earn a 3-day gross of $9.5 million at the domestic box office by the end of its sophomore weekend. This sees the movie stumbling with a severe week-on-week drop of 68%, dropping from No. 2 to No. 5 on the domestic chart.
That marks the franchise’s worst week 2 drop of all time by more than 20%. However, its cumulative domestic total is set to reach $50.1 million, making it just the 20th movie of 2025 so far to pᴀss the $50 million milestone in North America.
What This Means For 28 Years Later
It’s Not Out Of The Game Just Yet
While 28 Years Later has been dealt a severe blow in its sophomore weekend, this is not an uncommon result for the horror genre. Horror movies tend to be frontloaded, with solid opening weekends usually followed by drops of 50% or more.
However, neither of the previous two installments behaved like typical horror movies. Below, see a breakdown of the domestic box office performance of all three 28 Days Later movies during their first two weekends, as well as their overall worldwide grosses:
|
тιтle |
Debut |
Week 2 |
Drop |
Worldwide B.O. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
28 Days Later (2002) |
$10.1 million |
$6 million |
-40.3% |
$72.6 million |
|
28 Weeks Later (2007) |
$9.8 million |
$5.4 million |
-44.4% |
$65 million |
|
28 Years Later (2025) |
$30 million |
$9.5 million |
-68% |
TBD |
Even though 28 Years Later had a harsher drop, this follows it earning the best opening weekend of the franchise by far. Therefore, its second weekend’s raw total is nearly as high as the original movies’ domestic debuts. In fact, it has already outgrossed both those movies worldwide, having reached a global total of $73.6 million as of Friday.
This is good news, because the reported budget of 28 Years Later is $60 million, which means that it will need to keep climbing. While its break-even point is unknown, many movies need to earn back two and a half times their production budgets, so its estimated break-even point could be as high as $150 million.
Our Take On The 28 Years Later Week 2 Drop
The Planned Trilogy Could Still Be Completed
The movie’s mixed audience reactions (giving it a 64% score on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter), in addition to it having to compete with the anticipated Brad Pitt blockbuster F1: The Movie during its second weekend, could be the reasons behind its intense drop.
However, the movie is intended to be the first installment in a new trilogy. While the upcoming 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which should follow more or less directly from its ending, is already completed, the third installment has not yet been funded.
If 28 Years Later doesn’t show stronger audience hold from now on and its sequel follows suit, the trilogy may never be completed. However, in addition to the potential boost from VOD and streaming, there is still plenty of time for the movie to climb the charts, and it remains to be seen how high its global gross can get.
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Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline
