28 Years Later: The Bone Temple's Box Office Failure Gets Reaction From Director
Despite a trilogy set within the world of "28 Days Later" being proposed, it seems like those plans might end before they begin. The follow-up — "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" — came out less than a year after its predecessor, "28 Years Later." Sadly, it may have been too much too soon, as "Bone Temple" bombed at the box office. Now, director Nia DaCosta is speaking about the disappointment while maintaining a positive perspective.
"28 Years Later" made $151 million at the global box office while "Bone Temple" came in at a far more meager $58 million. It's a mighty drop that came as a shock to DaCosta, who told Empire Magazine, "It's so funny, because literally every barometer we use in the industry to determine whether or not a movie is good, and people like it and want to see it, was through the roof, and yet our box office wasn't there."
The reported budget for "Bone Temple" was $63 million, so this is nothing short of a catastrophic flop. Thankfully, reviews were largely positive, with Looper's review of "Bone Temple" calling it an "exhilarating sequel." Ultimately, DaCosta takes solace in the fact she did her best: "I made a great film, and I'm really proud of it, and people liked it."
What does this mean for 28 Years Later 3?
The ending of "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" clearly sets up a sequel, with Jim (Cillian Murphy) from "28 Days Later" still living amongst the infected with a daughter, and the two venture to save Spike (Alfie Williams) and Kellie (Erin Kellyman). However, the poor box office performance of "Bone Temple" calls that into question.
In December 2025, it was reported that Sony had already greenlit a third entry before "Bone Temple" even released. Given the film's haul, there have been rumors that the threequel is now up in the air. Nothing has been confirmed at this point, though, so any news should be taken with a grain of salt until Sony says something conclusively. One would assume that Murphy's return would entice fans, but this franchise may not have been as popular as the studio thought.
Nia DaCosta believes that the two "28 Years Later" movies coming out so closely together may have hurt the sequel. She explained how her film may have come out "too soon, because people were like, 'Oh yeah, I saw that last summer!' I'm like, 'No, no, so there's a sequel!" If Sony does want to proceed with a third "28 Years Later" film, it may be good to let audiences wait, and let folks who missed out on "Bone Temple" realize how great it is.