British cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean has released its predicted opening range for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, out on January 14 in the U.K. and Ireland from Sony Pictures Releasing.
Pearl & Dean predicts a £2.5- £3.5 million opening range for the film, the fourth in director Danny Boyle’s influential zombie horror series and the first not directed by him. The Bone Temple‘s immediate predecessor, last summer’s 28 Years Later, opened to just under £5 million in the U.K./Ireland en route to a total domestic gross of roughly £15 million.
A theatrical total close to but just under that of 28 Years Later would put The Bone Temple in league with other sequels released in close proximity to one another, most famously Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and 2. That pair of films hit U.K. and Irish screens in November 2003 and April 2004, respectively, with a 20 percent decline in total receipts from £11.9 million to £9.2 million. More recently, the fifth and sixth films in the Scream franchise followed the same trend, with Scream (January 2022) earning approximately £7.2 million to Scream VI’s (March 2023) slightly-under-£7 million total.
Its January release date means The Bone Temple will face less competition than its predecessor, which was released in the middle of a crowded summer. By contrast, this newest film in the series will for the most part be up against awards-oriented titles like Hamnet, Is This Thing On?, and Rental Family, giving it an opportunity to sweep up multiplex audiences.
January has long been a lucrative slot for both new and holdover horror films, including last year’s Christmas release Nosferatu (£13 million), 2023’s M3GAN (£7.2million), and 2022’s Scream (£7.2million). A combined franchise and critical pedigree could allow The Bone Temple to leg out longer, even if it has a softer opening. Sony Pictures are certainly bullish about the franchise as a whole, having already greenlit a third 28 Years Later film.
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