Sony is suggesting a weekend opening the $28 million range, while tracking shows Boyle’s film coming in at $30 million or more.
Others think it could scare up as much as $40 million to $45 million.
Popular on THR So far, however, 28 Years Later, isn’t going over so well with audiences despite glowing reviews.
Presently, the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score is 92 percent, while the audience score is only 69 percent.
(Toy Story opened over Thanksgiving, and amassed $39 million over the long five-day holiday weekend.)
As it enters its second weekend with an early domestic haul of almost $125 million, Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon won the Juneteenth holiday box office race on Thursday with $9.7 million in ticket sales.
Even though two new summer event films, Pixar’s Elio and Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, took advantage of the holiday by releasing early previews, the live-action version of DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed 2010 animated film is certain it will remain at the top of the charts in its second outing. When it comes to playing in Imax theaters, How to Train Your Dragon has a significant edge. ).
Boyle’s zombie sequel from Sony is getting $5.8 million in preview receipts, which puts it in second place on Thursday, at least unofficially (preview receipts are eventually added to the opening-day gross, or in this case, Friday’s haul). Boyle’s film is expected to gross at least $30 million, but Sony is recommending a weekend opening in the $28 million range. According to some, it might scare up to $40 million or $45 million.
THR is popular.
However, despite receiving excellent reviews, 28 Years Later isn’t doing so well with viewers as of yet. At the moment, the audience score is just 69 percent, compared to the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 92 percent.
Twenty-five years after 28 Days appeared on the big screen and became a cult classic, Boyle and writer Alex Garland reunite in 28 Years Later, the first installment of a planned trilogy. Starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, and Ralph Fiennes, the film takes place almost thirty years after the events of the first movie.
Elio, an original movie about a young child who gets the chance to visit space and communicate with extraterrestrial life, made $3 million from Thursday previews and a few special access Wednesday showings.
Although Pixar is prepared for the possibility that the animated film could have the worst 3-day opening ever for the venerable animation studio behind Elemental ($29.6 million) in June 2023 and its very first film, 1995’s Toy Story ($29.1 million), not adjusted for inflation, tracking indicates that the film will open to $30 million in North America. During the lengthy five-day holiday weekend, Toy Story earned $39 million after opening over Thanksgiving. ().
Although Elemental’s debut was hailed as a complete failure at the time, it went on to become a sleeper hit and earn close to $500 million worldwide. When children are released from school for the summer, Pixar and its parent company, Disney, are sure that Elio will continue to have the same kind of enduring appeal. As of right now, Elio has a higher Rotten Tomatoes critic score than Elemental. There isn’t currently an audience score on RT.
After the pandemic, Pixar has been having trouble establishing itself in a world where original animated films don’t open to the same heights they once did, think north of $70 million. Additionally, during the pandemic years, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek chose to send three Pixar films—including the Oscar-winning Soul, Luca, and Turning Red—directly to Disney+ domestically. Critics claimed that this decision encouraged families to put off watching a movie at home. They were all regarded as streaming hits. ).
However, Pixar and Disney changed their minds and are now once again dedicated to presenting original theatrical stories, interspersed with well-known intellectual property. Examples of this include the hit movie from last year, Inside Out 2, which broke all previous records and was the highest-grossing film of 2024. It is also the highest-grossing Pixar film and the highest-grossing animated film ever, with over $1.69 billion in global ticket sales, not including inflation.
