Despite great reviews, Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” earned $70M domestically, $150M worldwide, a far cry from the promise of a trailer that had gone viral online. It’s been 40 days since its theatrical launch, and the film is now available digitally.
Critics were won over by the film simply, but it simply didn’t connect with general audiences in the way Sony had hoped. That low 63% user rating on Rotten Tomatoes stuck out, and the PostTrak numbers were in the 50s. I guess that’s what happens when you try to subvert expectations for a sequel and make something unique and original.
With a reported $75M production budget —not including marketing— “28 Years Later” is no doubt in peril of not having the trilogy capper greenlit. Sony had banked on the film launching a new trilogy, and the follow-up, Nia DaCosta’s “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” which already wrapped filming, is currently set for January 2026 release, and test screening next week in Irvine.
Sony has yet to greenlight the third film, which would be penned by Alex Garland, and directed by Boyle. Cillian Murphy, absent in the first instalment, would play a major role in this one, and that would be the lure for Sony. Then again, if DaCosta’s film bombs next year, the trilogy capper could very well not happen.