James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash remained the weekend box-office leader over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, posting a five-weekend four-day take of $17.6 million while Sony’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opened well below earlier tracking at roughly $15 million over four days. The Bone Temple’s three-day total of $13.2 million marks the second-strongest opening in the Danny Boyle–Alex Garland franchise after last June’s 28 Years Later ($30 million opening). Early audience scores are solid for the new sequel, but the financial picture depends heavily on international receipts.
Key takeaways
- Avatar: Fire and Ash is estimated at $17.6M over the four-day MLK frame in its fifth weekend, bringing its domestic total to about $367.8M.
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opened to about $15M (four-day), with a three-day opening of $13.2M—below Sony’s $20M-plus tracking earlier in the week.
- CinemaScore for Bone Temple is an A- and PostTrak reports a 72% “definite recommend,” stronger than last summer’s entry (B and 52% definite recommend).
- Demographics for Bone Temple skew older: men 25+ made up 49% of the audience; women 25+ were 26%; under-25 audiences were smaller.
- PLF (premium large format) screens accounted for roughly 36% of Bone Temple’s weekend gross; AMC Grove in Los Angeles led with an estimated $23.1K for the title.
- Industry estimate for the entire MLK Friday–Monday weekend is approximately $102M, up about 8% from last year’s $94.2M and the third-best post-COVID MLK total.
- International performance is pivotal: Bone Temple has a 98% offshore footprint and a reported net production cost near $63M; the franchise’s 2025 title finished at $151.3M worldwide on a $60M net production cost.
Background
The 28 Years Later series began as a British horror franchise steeped in social commentary and visceral imagery, created by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland. The 2025 revival, 28 Years Later, reestablished the franchise with a $30M opening last June; the new entry, subtitled The Bone Temple, is the fourth film and was directed by Nia DaCosta with a screenplay by Garland and production input from Boyle. Sony positioned The Bone Temple as the only major studio wide opener for MLK weekend, betting the franchise’s built-in fans and positive critical buzz would convert to a strong extended-weekend launch.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is in its fifth theatrical weekend but remains a dominant commercial force, benefitting from a wide footprint and continued audience interest in James Cameron’s Na’Vi world. Studios have been cautious with wide releases over the holiday frame, leaving space for catalog holdovers, sequels and specialty releases to compete for a thinner theatrical marketplace.
Main event
Through Saturday estimates, 20th Century Studios’ Avatar: Fire and Ash drew about $3.2M on Friday and finished the three-day weekend near $14.4M, reaching $17.6M over four days and a domestic running total near $367.8M. The film played on roughly 3,300 screens this weekend, down slightly from the prior weekend’s footprint.
Sony’s The Bone Temple opened in approximately 3,506 theaters with a Friday that included $2.1M in previews and a Friday total around $5.6M, leading to a three-day $13.2M and four-day $15M. That outcome sits well below some studios’ earlier $20M–$22M weekend expectations and below the franchise’s June 2025 debut.
Audience reception for Bone Temple was encouraging on qualitative measures: a CinemaScore of A- and a Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak “definite recommend” at 72%—both indicators that word of mouth could strengthen in the coming days. Still, the opening pattern—strong preview interest in some markets but softer broad turnout—suggests a measured domestic trajectory unless international and weekday holds outperform.
Analysis & implications
Bone Temple’s opening illustrates the limits of niche, high-concept horror franchises in scaling to mass-market returns. The franchise has critical cachet and dedicated fans, but its visceral, somewhat literary horror leans toward a more specialized audience. Even with better audience scores than the previous installment, a long-delayed sequel often posts a lower opening than its immediate predecessor unless mainstream marketing and A-list cast traction broaden the appeal.
The box-office pattern here follows a familiar logic: when a franchise returns after a long gap, the first comeback can capitalize on pent-up demand and register a franchise-best debut; subsequent sequels commonly see diminished openings. The Bone Temple sits about 56% below last summer’s franchise peak domestically, underscoring that dynamic and the challenge of converting critical goodwill into a large opening weekend.
Economically, the title’s reported net production cost near $63M makes international takings critical. With a 98% offshore footprint, overseas revenue will determine whether the film clears production and marketing outlays. By comparison, the prior franchise entry reached $151.3M worldwide on a $60M net cost; the sequel will need robust overseas legs and strong weekday holds to match or exceed that performance.
Comparison & data
| Title | Theaters | Fri | 3-day | 4-day | Total/Wk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar: Fire & Ash | 3,300 | $3.2M | $14.4M | $17.6M | $367.8M (Wk 5) |
| 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple | 3,506 | $5.6M | $13.2M | $15M | Wk 1 |
| Zootopia 2 | 3,100 | $1.9M | $9.5M | $12.2M | $393.4M (Wk 8) |
Contextualizing these totals: Avatar’s continuing haul keeps it on track for a global cume north of $1.3 billion, while Zootopia 2 is pushing toward roughly $1.68 billion worldwide. The MLK frame overall is tracking near $102M—an increase versus last year’s $94.2M and the third-best post-pandemic MLK weekend.
Reactions & quotes
“The 28 Years cast are not big drivers with the two leads off the grid and Chi Louis Parry bringing 131K fans and Emma Laird with 108K.”
RelishMix (analytics firm)
“72% definite recommend on PostTrak, an encouraging signal that word of mouth could help the title in weekdays and overseas.”
Screen Engine / Comscore (audience research)
“Critics love Bone Temple at 94%, reflecting strong reviews even if the box office started below studio projections.”
Rotten Tomatoes (critics aggregate)
Unconfirmed
- The reported $63M net production cost for The Bone Temple is industry-sourced and not officially confirmed by the studio; if lower or higher, P&L outcomes change materially.
- Whether current positive audience measures (A- CinemaScore, 72% PostTrak definite recommend) will translate into improved weekday holds and stronger international legs remains uncertain.
- RelishMix’s social-reach figures and the exact influence of the leads’ personal followings on box office are estimates from analytics models and may be revised.
Bottom line
The MLK weekend reinforced Avatar: Fire and Ash’s commercial durability while spotlighting the limits of niche horror franchises to expand beyond a loyal core audience. Bone Temple’s critical acclaim and favorable audience grades give it a chance to stabilize, but its domestic start is modest relative to last summer’s franchise peak.
For studios and exhibitors the immediate takeaway is pragmatic: strong critic and audience scores help, but production economics and international distribution will decide profitability for sequels like Bone Temple. The weekend’s final tallies and next-weekday holds, plus overseas returns, will be decisive in judging whether this sequel can recover its earlier tracking optimism.
Sources
- Deadline — trade reporting and weekend estimates (industry/press)
- Screen Engine / Comscore (PostTrak) — audience research firm
- Rotten Tomatoes — critics aggregation