‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Heads to VOD After Just 32 Days as Box Office Implodes

by

Sony is sending 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple to VOD this Tuesday, after only 32 days in theaters.

That’s proof right there that the theatrical run didn’t go as planned.

The movie has earned only $56.6 million worldwide, with $25 million of that coming from the U.S. and Canada. It opened with a disappointing $12.5 million.

These recent earnings are significantly lower than the initial performance of 28 Years Later, which grossed over $151 million worldwide and more than $70 million in the US following its June debut – though even those figures weren’t particularly impressive.

But for The Bone Temple, the drop-off is massive.

A $100M Loss?

The Bone Temple’s break-even number looks to be around $157.5M based on the budget of $63M.

The film has only earned about $56.6 million worldwide, meaning it’s currently losing around $100 million. Even with potential earnings from streaming and other sources, this is a significant financial loss.

Studios don’t rush movies to digital in just over a month when things are going great.

Early VOD = Underperformance

Netflix chief Ted Sarandos recently explained to Congress that movies are usually released digitally sooner if they aren’t doing well in theaters.

He cited the shrinking time movies stay exclusively in theaters – for instance, Superman becoming available for digital rental after just 35 days – as evidence that movie theaters aren’t performing as well. Traditionally, movies aren’t available for digital rental until around 45 days after their theatrical release.

The fact that The Bone Temple became available to rent or buy digitally after only 32 days is a surprisingly short timeframe, and it suggests a lot about its performance.

Audience Rejection

The first film already showed signs of division among audiences.

Although critics generally liked it, fans had a much more divided reaction, largely because the story unexpectedly focused on progressive themes.

Now the sequel’s collapse proves many moviegoers simply didn’t come back.

The sharp drop from $151M worldwide for the first film to $56.6M for Bone Temple makes that clear.

The movie didn’t take off as hoped, and the revival of the franchise seems to have failed. The numbers suggest it won’t continue, and honestly, that’s probably for the best.

Read More

2026-02-17 07:01