Will the undead rise to the top, or will Pandora continue to reign supreme? The box office battle is heating up, and it's a clash between the familiar and the fresh! We're talking about the potential showdown between "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" and James Cameron's "Avatar: Fire and Ash."
"The Bone Temple," the fourth installment in the "28 Days Later" franchise, is stepping into the arena, aiming for a domestic debut of around $20 million to $22 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Its predecessor, "28 Years Later," kicked off with $30 million in its initial three-day weekend last June. That film ultimately amassed $70 million in North America and a solid $150 million globally, all against a budget of $60 million. This new zombie flick comes with a slightly heftier price tag of $63 million.
Directed by Nia DaCosta and penned by series creator Alex Garland, "The Bone Temple" picks up the story after the previous film, bringing back familiar faces like Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, and Alfie Williams as they navigate a post-apocalyptic Britain ravaged by the Rage Virus. Positive reviews could be a significant boost. In fact, "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" currently boasts a remarkable 94% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety's chief film critic, Peter Debruge, even hailed it as "bold, mind-bending work which satisfies that so-often-frustrated craving for a zombie movie with brains."
Meanwhile, Chloe Zhao's Shakespearean tragedy "Hamnet" is expanding its reach to 688 theaters after a limited release run. This film, fresh off its Golden Globe win for best motion picture drama and a best actress trophy for star Jessie Buckley, has already earned an impressive $13 million domestically.
But here's where it gets controversial... "Avatar: Fire and Ash," the current box office champion, is looking to add another $12 million to $14 million to its already impressive haul over the four-day weekend. While it's a global phenomenon, raking in $1.23 billion worldwide, the third "Avatar" installment seems to be losing steam faster than its predecessors. The first two "Avatar" films held the top spot for seven consecutive weekends, while "Fire and Ash" might see its reign end after just five. Of course, expectations for "Avatar 3" are sky-high, considering the massive success of the first two films: 2009's "Avatar" and 2022's "Avatar: The Way of Water," which stand as two of the highest-grossing movies ever, with $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively. (James Cameron himself has even joked about holding a press conference to decide the fate of "Avatar 4" and "Avatar 5" based on the financial performance of this third film!)
And this is the part most people miss... January is typically a slower month for movie theaters compared to the summer and holiday seasons. However, Hollywood has strategically placed a few potential blockbusters in the first month of the year, including Amazon MGM's sci-fi adventure "Mercy" starring Chris Pratt, Sam Raimi's survival horror film "Send Help," and the Jason Statham-led "Shelter."
As Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore's head of marketplace trends, wisely notes, "Patience we will be a virtue as we await some of the bigger openers on the way."
What do you think? Will "The Bone Temple" breathe new life into the box office, or will "Avatar: Fire and Ash" continue its dominance? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
