Sony’s '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' flop puts planned third film at risk

Sony’s latest entry in the “28 Years Later” series, Nia DaCosta-directed “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” opened to a disappointing $13 million over the MLK weekend — well below the $20–22 million it was expecting — and is being called the first big box-office bomb of 2026. The sequel plunged further in its second weekend, earning less than $4 million (a roughly 71% drop) and has grossed about $46 million worldwide against a reported $63 million budget, tracking below the break-even threshold.

Sony shot “28 Years Later” and “The Bone Temple” simultaneously, the Page Six piece notes. Despite the weak box-office showing, the film drew strong reviews: a 93% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- CinemaScore, with praise for Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell. Fandango’s Shawn Robbins told Page Six that the shortfall “underscore[s] just how challenging edgy, hard R-rated genre films can be to predict in a commercial setting.” Page Six places the film’s struggles in a broader industry context, arguing studios’ franchise-heavy strategies are increasingly risky.

The story cites other examples: the third “Avatar” installment performed worse than its predecessor and director James Cameron told Taiwan’s TVBS News “the movie industry is depressed right now” and that “‘Avatar 3’ cost a lot of money. We have to do well in order to continue.” The piece also notes Netflix’s $469 million spend for two “Knives Out” sequels in 2021 and the latest film’s low theatrical debut (No.

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