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\n\tSATURDAY AM:<\/strong> It\u2019s looking like James Cameron\u2019s Na\u2019Vi are scaring off Sony\u2019s Infected at the MLK box office as Avatar: Fire and Ash<\/strong> <\/em>is on its way to a $17.6M<\/strong> four-day fifth weekend while 28 Days Years Later: The Bone Temple<\/strong> <\/em>is coming in way under $20M+ tracking projections with $15M<\/strong> (rivals see it much lower). At a 3-day of $13.2M, it\u2019s the second highest opening in the Danny Boyle-Alex Garland franchise after last June\u2019s 28 Years Later <\/em>($30M).<\/p>\n \n\tAt that level for The Bone Temple, <\/em>that\u2019s a disappointment. No one, not Sony, not anybody wanted to see it file at that level, especially as the sole MLK weekend opening. On the positive side, the Nia DaCosta directed, Alex Garland penned and Danny Boyle produced fourth title in the British zombie series gets an A- CinemaScore, and a very good 72% definite recommend on Screen Engine\/Comscore\u2019s PostTrak, which is better than the B CinemaScore and 52% definite recommend on 28 Years Later<\/em>. Will positive word of mouth kick-in? I dunno\u2026<\/p>\n \n\tHere\u2019s the thing, while Sony was in need of franchises, and likes to prop auteur-driven content, this is a very niche horror, very gory, somewhat highbrow zombie series. It\u2019s not a horror franchise for a mass audience. While Bone Temple <\/em>did well enough last summer, it wasn\u2019t at a lofty level one would expect for a long-delayed series, plus the audience scores were alright, not through the roof. Coming off of that, even if the follow-up here is getting a better audience reaction, it\u2019s hard to build off and blast off moviegoers\u2019 attitudes toward the previous installment. Factor in the box office algorithm that whenever a long-delayed sequel with any kind of fan appreciation opens (28 Years Later <\/em>arriving in theaters 18 years after 28 Week Later<\/em>), it\u2019s apt to post a record debut for the franchise. Any subsequent sequel thereafter typically sees a decline in its opening, read 2020\u2019s Bad Boys for Life <\/em>posts the highest opening ever for the series at $62.5M, while the 2024\u2019s sequel Bad Boys: Ride or Die <\/em>comes in -10% lower with a $56.5M opening. Another example: Star Wars: Force Awakens <\/em>opens to $247.9M, while Last Jedi <\/em>opens to $220M, -11%. There\u2019s a bigger gap between the openings here for Bone Temple <\/em>and 28 Years Later<\/em>, -56%. <\/p>\n \n\tLet\u2019s see where international comes in for Bone Temple, <\/em>the movie having a 98% offshore footprint. Figuring that the net production cost of $63M is true, then it\u2019s on global to save this sequel. <\/p>\n \n\tMore..<\/p>\n \n\tFRIDAY PM:<\/strong> Na\u2019vi and the Infected are locked in a battle for No. 1 over what is a very sluggish MLK weekend. The major motion picture studios, in their commitment to theatrical, forgot to release more wide entries, Sony being the only one to have the grit to take on the fifth weekend of 20th Century Studio\u2019s Avatar: Fire and Ash <\/strong><\/em>with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple<\/strong>. <\/em>Currently both are looking at $15M<\/strong> over four days. <\/p>\n \n\tLast year, the fifth weekend of Disney\u2019s Mufasa: The Lion King <\/em>led with $15.4M over four days with Sony\u2019s One of Them Days <\/em>in second with $14M and Universal\/Blumhouse\u2019s Wolf Man<\/em> \u2014 which was expected to well but did not \u2014 debuting at $12.2M. The entire Friday-Monday frame came in at $94.2M. Let\u2019s hope we\u2019re not lower.<\/p>\n \n\t28 Years Later: The Bone Temple <\/em>currently is seeing a $5.8M Friday, which includes Thursday night\u2019s $2.1M. Heading into the weekend, analytics firm RelishMix measured the sequel\u2019s social media universe at 186.3M across YouTube, TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram, which is 17% behind where 28 Years Later <\/em>was this summer but 1% ahead of the social media reach of other horror franchise genre norms. \u201cThe\u00a028 Years<\/em>\u00a0cast are not big drivers with the two leads off the grid and Chi Louis Parry bringing 131K fans and Emma Laird with 108K,\u201d reports RelishMix.<\/p>\n \n\tRELATED: 35 Of The Most Anticipated Movies Of 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\tThe top 6 are as follows:<\/p>\n \n\tFRIDAY AM: <\/strong>Sony\u2019s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple <\/em>has begun the MLK weekend with $2.1 million in previews from 2 p.m. showtimes Thursday. As expected, that\u2019s lower than last summer\u2019s $5.8M previews for 28 Years Later, <\/em>with that movie\u2019s Thursday boosted by Juneteenth holiday moviegoers.<\/p>\n \n\t28 Years Later: The Bone Temple <\/em>is really the only major studio wide release of the MLK weekend. It\u2019s expected to do $20M-$22M over the four days against Avatar: Fire and Ash<\/em>\u2018s fifth weekend, which is expected to land around $19M over four days. 28 Years Later <\/em>opened to $30M in June 2025 after a $14.4M Friday plus previews. That movie was directed by franchise co-architect Danny Boyle, while the follow-up here is helmed by Candyman<\/em> director Nia DaCosta.<\/p>\n \n\t28 Years Later <\/em>last summer skewed 75% over 25, 62% male. Men over 25 repped close to half of the audience, while women over 25 showed up at 37%, the second biggest demographic.<\/p>\n \n\tCritics love Bone Temple<\/em> at 94%, and the current PostTrak score is 4.5 stars out of 5.<\/p>\n \n\tHere\u2019s how the rest of the top 5 went down for the week:<\/p>\n\n
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