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

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As a moviegoer, I remember how Avatar and its sequel just kept drawing crowds – they really had staying power at the box office! Both films opened during the holidays and then completely owned January, a month that usually doesn’t have a lot of big releases competing for attention. They each held the number one spot for seven weeks! Now, Avatar: Fire and Ash has been doing really well, leading the box office for four weekends. Everyone was predicting that 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple would finally knock it from the top spot over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Wow, I can’t believe it, but Avatar is still dominating the box office! Deadline reports that Fire and Ash is projected to take the top spot for the fifth weekend in a row, earning around $17.2 million domestically over the holiday weekend. It looks like The Bone Temple came in second, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype, bringing in $15 million – most of that over the usual three-day weekend.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple Is the First Box Office Surprise of 2026

I’ve always been a fan of the 28 Days Later series, and while it’s never been a massive blockbuster, there was a real buzz about The Bone Temple. It was coming out so soon after 28 Years Later, which had actually broken box office records for the franchise – earning a fantastic $151.3 million worldwide! That really proved there was still a dedicated audience after all these years. Plus, 28 Years Later was a good film, so people weren’t turned off the idea of more sequels. Audiences liked it a bit less than critics – it had a 63% score on Rotten Tomatoes versus 88% for critics – but that’s still pretty positive, and it made me hopeful for The Bone Temple.

The Bone Temple quickly became a critical success, earning the highest score on Rotten Tomatoes of any film in the series. Critics particularly praised the acting of Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell, and director Nia DaCosta was commended for both building on the existing story and staying true to the heart of the franchise. Many believed it was a strong addition to the 28 Years Later trilogy and would lead to a thrilling conclusion, making its disappointing box office numbers even more surprising. You’d expect such positive reviews to draw bigger crowds to theaters.

One reason the recent 28 Years Later film might not have performed as well as 28 Weeks Later could be timing. There was a nearly twenty-year gap between the first two films, creating a lot of anticipation for the return of the franchise. 28 Years Later felt like a special event for fans, but The Bone Temple struggled to attract the same level of interest. A longer break between films might have allowed audiences to miss the series and boosted box office numbers. It’s also important to remember that 28 Days Later has always appealed to a more specific audience. While the films are unique and stand out from typical zombie movies, this limited appeal likely affects their commercial success.

Sony is moving forward with a third 28 Years Later movie after positive early feedback on The Bone Temple, which some are calling one of the best horror films in years. The studio expected The Bone Temple to do well in theaters, particularly since there weren’t many competing films being released in mid-January. With only a few holiday movies still performing well, there wasn’t much else to attract audiences. However, given its weak opening weekend, The Bone Temple will likely need strong international ticket sales to become profitable, as horror films often earn most of their money in their first few weeks.

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2026-01-18 22:10