Warning: Main spoilers for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple forward28 Years Later resurrected the beloved 28 Days Later franchise, respiratory new life into the Rage Virus-infected world that horror followers revere whereas sustaining among the finest components of what made the franchise a cornerstone within the first place. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple did what many thought was inconceivable by bettering upon its predecessor’s Licensed Recent 88% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
The Bone Temple achieved the franchise’s finest scores from each a critic and viewers perspective, but all of that acclaim did not translate to field workplace success. Its home opening was an underwhelming $12.5 million, leaving the film effectively in need of its reported $63 million price range. Whereas the constructive overview scores, viral needle drops, and beautiful cliffhanger ending might yield extra legs as word-of-mouth spreads, it appears all however assured The Bone Temple is available in in need of 28 Years Later.
With such beautiful scores and important social media buzz, it is considerably baffling that it will disappoint so totally on the field workplace. Nevertheless, there are a variety of things that got here collectively to sink The Bone Temple, which might name the deliberate trilogy’s finale into query.
The January 2026 Launch Harm Its Potential
January is usually thought of a “dump month” for the film trade, the place studios will sometimes push out motion pictures that they do not essentially really feel have large potential or that they do not think about. The rationale January will get the designation is that there are a number of components working towards the field workplace. Spending fatigue from the vacation season, chilly and inclement climate, and even main sporting occasions in primetime can play a job at protecting individuals away from the theater.
In that regard, releasing The Bone Temple within the dead-middle of January put it at a drawback from the beginning. On prime of that, the discharge date was roughly half a 12 months after the discharge of its predecessor, leaving just about no time for an viewers to construct past those that noticed it in theaters initially. It had a run on Netflix which actually opened it to a wider viewers, however there merely wasn’t sufficient time to really construct any kind of hype for the sequel.
It Lacked The Nostalgia Enchantment of 28 Years Later
The film itself was additionally missing in one of many greatest belongings of 28 Years Later: nostalgia. The promise of Alex Garland and Danny Boyle, the author/director combo accountable for what’s regarded by many as the best zombie film of all time, collaborating on a return to the world they constructed was immensely thrilling for followers of the franchise, and of the style normally.
28 Years Later got here 18 years after the newest entry within the franchise, and regardless of its lengthy gestation interval, it appeared at instances that we’d by no means truly get a continuation past 28 Weeks Later. With greater than two years of construct for the reason that formal announcement and 6 months of hype between the primary trailer and the discharge date, 28 Years Later had all of the momentum on the planet.
Conversely, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple had Nia DaCosta behind the digital camera as a substitute of Danny Boyle, leaving some followers nervous that the outcome may very well be much like the maligned 28 Weeks Later (directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo). Whereas DaCosta’s imaginative and prescient turned out to be excellent, her attachment to the high-profile MCU flop The Marvels seemingly scared some moviegoers off.
Fan Backlash From 28 Years Later Might Have Misplaced Some Of The Viewers
Maybe probably the most important contributor to the field workplace dip from 28 Years Later to The Bone Temple is the combined reception amongst moviegoers for the dangers taken within the authentic film. The scene most ceaselessly known as problematic was the acute, jarring tonal shift of the ending, wherein Jack O’Connell’s Jimmy Crystal and his Fingers save Spike from the Contaminated.
After all, those that caught it out for The Bone Temple actually perceive why such a tonal shift made sense within the grander scheme of the trilogy. Nevertheless, at that second, it was simple to grasp why some followers might need been disillusioned. The emotional shift from Jodie Comer’s last scene in 28 Years Later to the primary look of the Jimmies is actually tough to digest, particularly for many who anticipated one thing totally different.
The commonest general criticism was that followers anticipated much more “quick zombie” motion than they obtained with 28 Years Later. With a purpose to push the franchise ahead, Alex Garland and Danny Boyle needed to depart among the components behind. Regardless of quite a few brutally violent scenes that would definitely qualify as elevated zombie motion, many followers put down the film for failing to fulfill their expectations.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple pushes these new components even additional whereas totally fleshing out two of the franchise’s finest characters in Dr. Ian Kelson and Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal. There’s loads of time for extra individuals to see the film in theaters, however with so many issues working towards it, it isn’t obscure why The Bone Temple didn’t make an affect on the field workplace.
- Launch Date
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January 16, 2026
- Runtime
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109 Minutes
- Director
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Nia DaCosta
- Producers
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Andrew Macdonald, Bernard Bellew, Danny Boyle, Alex Garland, Peter Rice
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Jack O’Connell
Jimmy Crystal