🎬 Box Office Shock: ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Topples ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ With $5.6M Friday Take

Nia DaCosta’s zombie sequel breaks James Cameron’s four-week box office reign as MLK holiday frame reshapes the domestic leaderboard

Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple delivered a jolt to the domestic box office, ending the four-week reign of Avatar: Fire and Ash and claiming the No. 1 spot on Friday with a $5.6 million opening day haul.

The Sony-backed horror sequel—opening in 3,506 North American theaters—marks the fourth entry in the long-running “28” franchise and the follow-up to last summer’s “28 Years Later.” Industry estimates project $15 million across the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday frame, a solid result for an R-rated genre title amid premium-format competition.

Written by franchise architect Alex Garland, The Bone Temple follows survivors portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, and Alfie Williams as they navigate a ravaged British countryside while the Rage Virus resurges. With a $63 million production budget—slightly higher than its predecessor—the film has been buoyed by strong word of mouth, landing a rare “A-” CinemaScore for the horror genre alongside rave critical notices.

Despite surrendering the Friday crown, James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash remains a juggernaut. The sci-fi epic placed second with $3.2 million on its fifth Friday, and is expected to add $17 million over the MLK weekend, pushing its domestic total to approximately $367 million by Monday. Historically, Cameron’s Pandora sagas show remarkable endurance: both Avatar (2009) and The Way of Water held No. 1 positions for seven consecutive weeks.

Elsewhere on the chart, Chloé Zhao’s Shakespearean drama Hamnet expanded to 718 locations, adding $370,000 on Friday and eyeing $1.6 million through the holiday frame after a $13 million limited rollout.

Lionsgate’s sleeper thriller The Housemaid continued its impressive run, earning $2.5 million Friday and pacing toward $109 million domestic on a modest $35 million budget. A sequel is already in development, with Sydney Sweeney and Paul Feig set to return.

Paramount’s creature feature Primate landed sixth in its sophomore frame, adding $1.4 million Friday and trending toward $6.2 million domestic by Monday after a solid global debut.

Rounding out the top five are resilient holiday holdovers. Disney’s Zootopia 2 claimed fourth with $1.9 million Friday, projecting a $12 million four-day and lifting its North American total to roughly $393 million. A24’s Marty Supreme followed in fifth with $1.6 million Friday, closing in on $80 million domestic.

Bottom line: As awards-season dramas expand and tentpoles dig in for long legs, DaCosta’s The Bone Temple proves that prestige horror—with strong reviews and audience approval—can still deliver a box office jump scare powerful enough to dethrone Pandora, at least for a day.

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-- By Jasmine Thomas

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