\u201c28 Years Later: The Bone Temple\u201d proved to be no match for \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash,\u201d which remained No. 1 at the domestic box office in its fifth weekend of release.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bone Temple\u201d stumbled with $13 million over the weekend and a projected $15 million in its four-day debut over Martin Luther King Jr. Day \u2014 below expectations<\/a> of $20 million to $22 million over the long weekend. The film also collected $16.2 million from 61 overseas territories, bringing its global tally to $31.1 million.<\/p>\n More from Variety<\/p>\n The fourth installment in Sony\u2019s dystopian \u201c28 Days Later\u201d franchise has great reviews and word of mouth (a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and \u201cA-\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls), so its possible the studio had overestimated the public\u2019s appetite for the infected. After all, \u201cThe Bone Temple\u201d was released less than a year after its zombie-infested predecessor, \u201c28 Years Later,\u201d which opened last June to $30 million over the traditional three-day weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a steep drop from the third installment,\u201d says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research.\u00a0\u201cCritics\u2019 reviews and audience scores are the best of the series. But returning after seven months is too quick, and it\u2019s hurting the numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n That could become a problem for Sony because \u201c28 Years Later: The Bone Temple\u201d is the franchise\u2019s most expensive film yet, costing $63 million to produce before marketing expenses. Directed by Nia DaCosta and written by series creator Alex Garland, \u201cThe Bone Temple\u201d takes place after the previous film and brings back Ralph Fiennes, Jack O\u2019Connell and Alfie Williams as they continue to grapple with a Rage Virus that\u2019s ravaging a post-apocalyptic Britain.<\/p>\n \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d continued its reign with $13.3 million over the weekend and $17.2 million through the four-day frame. So far, James Cameron\u2019s third Na\u2019vi adventure has generated $363.5 million domestically and $1.31 billion globally. Although a theatrical juggernaut, \u201cAvatar 3\u201d is running out of steam faster than the first two films, 2009\u2019s \u201cAvatar\u201d and 2022\u2019s \u201cAvatar: The Way of Water,\u201d which stand as two of the biggest movies in history with $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively.<\/p>\n Outside of the top 10, Neon\u2019s dark comedy \u201cNo Other Choice\u201d has generated $2.2 million over the weekend and a projected $2.8 million through Monday from 695 theaters. The film, directed by acclaimed South Korean filmmaker\u00a0Park Chan-wook, has amassed $6.9 million domestically to date while slowly expanding its theatrical footprint.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Chloe Zhao\u2019s Shakespearean tragedy \u201cHamnet\u201d added $1.3 million over the weekend and a projected $1.6 million through Monday while expanding to 718 theaters. The film, which recently won the Golden Globe for best motion picture drama as well as a best actress trophy for star Jessie Buckley, has collected a strong $15 million domestically during its platform rollout. Overseas \u201cHamnet\u201d has made $12.9 million for a global tally of $27.5 million.<\/p>\n Another new release, Gus Van Sant\u2019s crime thriller \u201cDead Man\u2019s Wire,\u201d collected $1 million over the weekend and $1.2 million from 1,101 theaters in its nationwide expansion. The well-reviewed movie depicts the real-life 1977 hostage situation and stars Bill Skarsgard as a small-town entrepreneur-turned-outlaw folk hero who kidnaps his bank mortgager and demands $5 million for allegedly wronging him. This is the first release for Row K, which launched in August 2025 and has several films on the calendar for 2026.<\/p>\n Meanwhile a major re-release, Peter Jackson\u2019s \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d trilogy \u2014 which returned to theaters for the 25th anniversary of \u201cThe Fellowship of the Ring\u201d \u2014 earned $8 million over the weekend and a projected $9.5 million through Monday. Fathom Entertainment set each film to play on a particular day, with \u201cFellowship of the Ring\u201d generating $3.58 million on Friday, \u201cThe Two Towers\u201d grossing $2.4 million on Saturday, and \u201cThe Return of the King\u201d bringing in $2 million on Sunday. Despite record pre-sales<\/a>, those ticket sales are slightly behind the\u00a0company\u2019s last \u201cLOTR\u201d re-release in 2024, which grossed $8.2 million over the traditional weekend.<\/p>\n Since January tends to be glacial at the box office, several Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers rounded out the top five on domestic charts.<\/p>\n \u201cZootopia 2\u201d was No. 3 with $9 million over the weekend and $11.6 million through Monday in its eighth (!) weekend of release. The animated sequel has remained a box office force for two months with $392 million domestically and $1.7 billion globally. It now stands as the highest-grossing animated Hollywood film<\/a> of all time, ahead of \u201cInside Out 2\u201d ($1.69 billion).<\/p>\n Fourth place went to \u201cThe Housemaid\u201d with $8.5 million over the weekend and an estimated $10.1 million over the four-day frame, another impressive turnout for Lionsgate\u2019s psychological thriller. The R-rated film, starring\u00a0Sydney Sweeney\u00a0and\u00a0Amanda Seyfried,\u00a0has grossed $108.7 million in North America and $247.3 million globally against a $35 million budget, a very encouraging result at a tough time for mid-budget movies. \u201cThe Housemaid\u201d is the first novel in McFadden\u2019s best-selling trilogy, so naturally the sequel, \u201cThe Housemaid\u2019s Secret,\u201d\u00a0is already in the works<\/a>\u00a0with Sweeney and director Paul Feig.<\/p>\n \u201cMarty Supreme\u201d captured fifth place with $5.4 million over the weekend and a projected $6.6 million through Monday\u2019s holiday. The R-rated film has earned $80.8 million at the domestic box office, surpassing \u201cEverything Everywhere All at Once\u201d ($77 million) as A24\u2019s highest-grossing film in North America<\/a>. \u201cMarty Supreme,\u201d which has only been released in select international territories so far, has grossed $17 million overseas and $97 million globally. At this point, \u201cEverything Everywhere\u201d remains A24\u2019s highest-grossing worldwide release with $142 million, followed by Alex Garland\u2019s dystopian thriller \u201cCivil War\u201d with $127 million worldwide.<\/p>\n Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201c28 Years Later: The Bone Temple\u201d proved to be no match for \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash,\u201d which remained…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[60436,33443,24425,88,199335,206,199334,199336],"class_list":{"0":"post-416427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-28-years-later","9":"tag-alex-garland","10":"tag-domestic-box-office","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-franchise-entertainment","13":"tag-movies","14":"tag-overseas-territories","15":"tag-the-bone-temple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}