Avatar 3 vs. The Bone Temple Box Office Showdown Has Surprising Winner

One of the many reasons why the first two Avatar films grossed over $2 billion worldwide is the fact that those movies had extremely long legs at the box office. Opening over the holiday season, both took full advantage of the typically quiet month of January (which historically is not home to many high-profile new releases), dominating the charts for a period of several weeks. The first two Avatar movies retained the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office for seven straight weeks before falling off. The third installment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, has led the pack for four straight weekends, but the expectation was that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple would put an end to that streak over the Martin Luther King Day frame.

In a surprising twist, Avatar is still the box office king. According to Deadline, Fire and Ash is set to win its fifth straight weekend with an estimated $17.2 million domestically over the four-day holiday weekend. In second is The Bone Temple, which came in well below expectations to earn $15 million ($13 million of which came from the regular three-day weekend).

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The 28 Days Later series has never been one of the highest-grossing horror franchises, but there were signs pointing to The Bone Temple being a decent draw. The film was arriving only a handful of months after last summer’s 28 Years Later, which set new franchise box office records en route to a $151.3 million worldwide haul. That illustrated that even after an extended hiatus, there was still a sizable audience for these films. What’s more is that 28 Years Later was well-received, so it’s not as if it completely killed interest in future installments. Viewers weren’t quite as enthusiastic about it as critics (63% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 88% from critics), but that’s still solid word of mouth.

The Bone Temple also emerged as the year’s first critical darling, posting the highest Rotten Tomatoes score in the franchise. There was considerable praise for the performances from Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell, plus critics were impressed with the way director Nia DaCosta expanded the franchise while still remaining true to its core ethos. Many people felt The Bone Temple was a worthy entry that set the stage for an exciting final chapter in the 28 Years Later trilogy, so it’s surprising to see it perform so poorly at the box office. One would think the positive reviews would have encouraged more people to make the trip to the theater.

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One possible explanation for this is that there just wasn’t an appetite for another 28 Years Later film so soon after the first one. Nearly two decades separated the premieres of 28 Weeks Later and the first 28 Years Later, so there was perhaps a more palpable sense of excitement for the legacy sequel. It felt more like an even for fans because it marked the first time in several years that the iconic horror property was returning to the big screen. While The Bone Temple certainly has its merits and is worth checking out, it was seemingly a harder sell. Maybe if there was more of a gap between the two 28 Years Later films, the box office numbers would have been stronger since viewers would have had more of a chance to miss the franchise. It’s also worth pointing out that 28 Days Later has always been more of a niche series with regard to general audience appeal. These aren’t your standard zombie movies (and they’re all the better for it), but that likely plays a role in how they fare commercially.

Interestingly, Sony has already given the third and final 28 Years Later film the green light, feeling confident after early reactions praised The Bone Temple as one of the best horror films of the decade. The studio obviously believed The Bone Temple would have a greater presence at the box office, especially as it faced minimal competition in mid-January. Outside of the holiday holdovers continuing to make money, there wasn’t much else playing to draw audience’s attention. If The Bone Temple is opening this low in its debut, it’s unlikely to have much staying power (horror movies tend to be front-loaded), so it’ll be relying on a strong showing overseas to turn a profit.

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