New Horror Movie Instantly Becomes 2026’s Highest-Grossing Film Despite Disappointing Box Office Debut

The movie industry is a funny thing. Even when you think a film is achieving something great at the box office, it could end up being called a “flop”; even when it sometimes looks like a movie is dead in the water, it manages to slow roll its way into big returns. Horror has become one of the hardest genres to predict when it comes to box office forecasting: with modest budgets and the potential to blow up big with audiences, horror has become one of the only bets the film industry is willing to roll the dice on.

The 2026 year in movies is already horror-heavy, with survival horror-thriller Primate and the blockbuster horror sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple both in theaters right now. The Bone Temple just got its opening weekend receipts back, and while some analysts are painting it as an underperformer, it’s now official that it’s also the highest-grossing movie of 2026 (so far).

28 Years Later Is Officially A Hit Franchise After The Bone Temple‘s Opening

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has now earned an estimated $31.2 million dollars worldwide. $15 million was earned domestically, while another $16.2 million came from international markets like the UK. That total is higher than the total box office returns for Primate ($24M worldwide) and Greenland 2: Migration ($16.8M), which are both in their second week of release.

In the US, the headlines about The Bone Temple tended to skew towards calling it an underperformer, as its $15M box office was below the projected $20M – $22M it was supposedly going to take in. However, The Bone Temple has gotten franchise-high reviews from critics, currently holds a “A-” Cinemascore, and a “hot” 89% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes. That all indicates that word of mouth could propel the film past any lingering holdouts by those who maybe didn’t enjoy the first installment, as well as possibly drawing in others who didn’t see the first film, but are hearing the uptick in praise about the sequel. The first 28 Years Later has been trending on the Netflix streaming charts since its release, offering fans an easy chance to get caught up before going out to see The Bone Temple.

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In ComicBook’s review of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Spencer Perry wrote: “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a deep, metaphorical movie that challenges the audience while also entertaining them. It’s tough to say if it’s really better or worse than the first movie because they’re so distinctly different, but what’s noteworthy is how well both of them achieve what they’re aiming for. It’s a fantastic sequel that defies expectations while also satisfying them, and boasts one of the greatest endings from a horror movie in a franchise in years. It’s unclear how the third film in the series will play out, or when it will even arrive, but The Bone Temple has it primed to be killer.”

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is now playing in theaters. Come discuss the film and the series with us on the ComicBook Forum!