This weekend, Sony's highly anticipated film, “28 Years Later,” kicked off its domestic box office run with an impressive $14 million from Friday and preview screenings. This strong start positions the film for a promising opening weekend, with projections suggesting it could surpass $30 million by Sunday. The movie, which has a production budget of $60 million, marks a significant revival of the franchise originally launched by the cult classic “28 Days Later” in 2002, directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.
“28 Years Later” is seen as a potential franchise rejuvenator, especially following a competitive bidding war that led Sony to acquire the project. The film has garnered positive reviews, introducing a fresh cast that includes renowned actors like Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, and newcomer Alfie Williams. However, audience reception appears mixed, as indicated by a CinemaScore grade of “B”—a typical score for horror films.
Looking ahead, a sequel titled “The Bone Temple”, directed by Nia DaCosta, has already been filmed and is set to be released by Sony in January 2026. Additionally, a third installment is planned but awaits a green light based on the box office performance of this latest entry.
In a contrasting scenario, Disney's original animated adventure “Elio” is struggling, with early box office results indicating it may achieve the lowest debut in Pixar's history. The animated film earned $9 million from 3,750 locations on its opening day. This disappointing performance comes on the heels of Pixar's previous success with “Inside Out 2,” which opened to $155 million last year and remains one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.
Despite the potential for a comeback, with positive reviews and an A grade on CinemaScore, “Elio” is projected to fall short of its production budget of $150 million. Its current trajectory places it well below the $29 million debut of Pixar's “Elemental” from 2023.
Meanwhile, Universal's “How to Train Your Dragon” continues to lead the North American box office in its second weekend, bringing in an additional $10.8 million on Friday alone. The film's second-weekend projections suggest a total of $35.7 million, reflecting a 58% drop from its opening weekend. With a total domestic gross potentially reaching $160 million in its first ten days, it stands as the seventh-highest-grossing North American release of the year.
In fourth place, Disney's live-action remake “Lilo & Stitch” earned another $3 million on Friday, with weekend projections estimating around $10 million. This brings its domestic total to approximately $387 million, surpassing “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II” to become the 55th highest-grossing film of all time.
Completing the top five, “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” continues to perform well, projecting a total domestic gross of $178.9 million after 31 days, showing an improvement over its franchise predecessor.
Finally, A24's “Materialists” is expected to hold steady, with a second-weekend projection of around $6 million. New this weekend, Magenta Light Studios introduced the Rebel Wilson action comedy “Bride Hard”, which has received poor reviews and a B- grade on CinemaScore, likely struggling to cross the $1 million mark during its debut.
