SATURDAY AM: James Cameron’s Na’Vi are dominating Sony’s Infected at the MLK box office. 20th Century Studios’ Avatar: Fire and Ash is projected to earn $17.6M over its four-day fifth weekend, while 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is significantly trailing behind with around $15M, falling short of its expected $20M+ projections (some rivals estimate even lower). With a three-day total of $13.2M, it’s the second-best opening in the Danny Boyle-Alex Garland franchise, after last June’s 28 Years Later ($30M).
The performance of The Bone Temple is underwhelming. No one, including Sony or theaters, anticipated such a low turnout, especially given that it was the only major release for the MLK weekend. On the upside, the fourth installment in the British zombie series, directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland, has received an A- CinemaScore and a commendable 72% recommend rate on Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak, which is an improvement over its predecessor’s B CinemaScore and 52% recommendation.
However, while Sony seeks franchises and supports auteur-driven projects, this niche horror series is very specific, gory, and not made for mass audiences. Last summer, Bone Temple performed adequately, but not at the high levels expected for a long-delayed series, and audience scores were just average. Even with a better reception this time, building on previous installment’s mediocre word of mouth has proven difficult. When a long-awaited sequel opens, it often reaches high numbers, but subsequent releases usually see a decline.
Demographic data shows that Bone Temple is similar to last June’s release, with audiences predominantly consisting of men over 25 at 49%, followed by women over 25 at 26%. The diversity breakdown is: 50% Caucasian, 28% Hispanic and Latino, 8% Black, and 8% Asian American.
Premium Large Format (PLF) screens account for 36% of the weekend’s earnings, with the West Coast leading ticket sales. The AMC Grove in Los Angeles ranked as the top location for the DaCosta film, grossing $23.1k.
As for international performance, Bone Temple has a 98% offshore presence, and with a reported net production cost of $63M, the global revenue is crucial for this sequel’s profitability. In contrast, 28 Years Later finaled at $151.3M globally against a $60M production cost before marketing.
Meanwhile, Avatar: Fire and Ash is expected to surpass $1.3 billion in global earnings, while Zootopia 2 should reach around $1.68 billion worldwide. By the end of Monday, Zootopia 2 is projected to be less than $7M shy of hitting $400M at the domestic box office.
