MOVIE NEWS – James Cameron’s third Avatar film reclaimed the top spot at the box office, edging out 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple in a close weekend showdown. Even with strong early reviews for Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s latest entry in their dystopian saga, the opening fell short of expectations. That softer start is now raising doubts about whether the planned concluding chapter will get the green light.
Avatar: Fire and Ash climbed back to number one at the box office, regaining the lead after briefly losing it to 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on Thursday’s preview numbers. Despite the continuation of Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s bleak saga earning some genuinely impressive reviews ahead of release, the film has landed below its initial projections, putting the next installment’s prospects into question.
The Bone Temple follows last year’s hit 28 Years Later, which itself carried forward the story that began with 28 Weeks Later and the original 28 Days Later, the 2002 film that helped launch Cillian Murphy into wider prominence. Arriving as a dark, unsettling take on belief and survival under brutal conditions, The Bone Temple hitting theaters just seven months after its predecessor has sparked a simple question: maybe audiences aren’t ready for another round of Rage Virus horror quite so soon.
January and February are notoriously tricky months for new releases, and The Bone Temple sitting among a quieter slate looked odd given how popular 28 Years Later was last summer. Even after eye-catching preview figures, the weekend is shaping up as a $13 million opening, or roughly $15 million when the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday frame is included. That’s well below the $20 million-plus domestic weekend some expected, and roughly half of the $30 million start 28 Years Later posted back in June. Worldwide, the total is projected to settle around $31.1 million, which is about half of the film’s reported $63 million budget.
The Bone Temple brings Nia DaCosta in to direct after Danny Boyle, with Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, and Alfie Williams returning to reprise their roles from the previous film. Cillian Murphy is also back in the mix, and if the final entry in this new trilogy is ultimately approved, his part is expected to expand.
The Bone Temple’s Underperformance Wasn’t the Script Anyone Expected
Critical reception for The Bone Temple has been strong, with few reviews finding much to fault in the film. That enthusiasm has carried over to audiences, too, with its Rotten Tomatoes audience score reportedly climbing to 94%, higher than the earlier movies in the franchise. Still, the muted box office has left the door open for Avatar: Fire and Ash to hold onto first place for another weekend.
It’s not the outcome many predicted, especially since the latest Avatar only beat its challenger by around $300,000 over the three-day weekend, with a combined holiday estimate of $17.2 million by Monday. Had The Bone Temple performed at its expected level, it likely would have taken the top spot without much trouble. Instead, it’s currently sitting at number two, with Zootopia 2, The Housemaid, and Marty Supreme rounding out the domestic top five.
Even though 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple were essentially filmed back to back, what comes next for the franchise is suddenly less clear. Boyle and Garland reportedly approached the new 28… Later run with a firm plan to build a trilogy. Whether that plan still holds is now an open question. Strong reviews and positive word of mouth could help the movie build over time, especially if it shows staying power beyond opening weekend. But the box office headwinds that often hit in the first month of the year could also push audiences to wait until the film lands on home release.
Forrás: MovieWeb
