’28 Day Later: The Bone Temple’ Dominates Top Spot Friday With $5.6 Million

Nia DaCosta’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple ended the four-week reign of Avatar: Fire and Ash and claimed the top spot at the domestic box office on Friday.

“The Bone Temple,” the sequel to last summer’s “28 Years Later” and the fourth film in Sony’s long-running zombie franchise, grossed $5.6 million on its opening day from 3,506 North American theaters.

The horror-thriller is expected to add $15 million through the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday frame.

The last installment, helmed by “28 Days Later” director Danny Boyle, opened to $30 million over a traditional three-day frame, and ended its run with $70 million in the US and $150 million worldwide.

That film cost $60 million, and “The Bone Temple” was slightly more expensive to produce at $63 million.

Franchise mastermind Alex Garland penned the screenplay for “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” which follows Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell and Alfie Williams as they navigate the British countryside and fight off the deadly Rage Virus.

The film has received rave reviews from critics and an “A-” from audience pollster CinemaScore, a rare feat in the horror genre.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” landed at No. 2 with $3.2 million on its fifth Friday in American theaters.

James Cameron’s third trip to Pandora should add estimated $17 million through the MLK frame. Domestic gross should hit about $367 million by Monday.

The first “Avatar” and its sequel “The Way of Water” were both No. 1 at the box office for 7 consecutive weeks.

Hamnet

Chloé Zhao’s Shakespearean drama “Hamnet” expanded to 718 North American locations after several weeks in limited release. The film earned $13 million during its initial rollout and added another $370,000 on Friday. “Hamnet” should pull in $1.6 million through MLK Day.

Lionsgate’s thriller The Housemaid added $2.5 million on Friday for a third-place finish. Domestic earnings should hit $109 million through the holiday frame, an impressive feat considering it cost just $35 million to produce.

A sequel is already in the works with star Sydney Sweeney and director Paul Feig returning.

Paramount’s monkey horror Primate landed in sixth during its second Friday in North American theaters, hauling in another $1.4 million. The film opened solidly last weekend with $13.4 million worldwide against a $21 million budget. The domestic total should reach $6.2 million by Monday.

Rounding out the top five are holdovers from the holiday season.

A24’s “Marty Supreme” took fifth with an estimated $1.6 million domestic. Total domestic gross should hit about $80 million by Monday.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: Film Ended Reign of “Avatar: Fire and Ash”

’28 Day Later: The Bone Temple’ Dominates Top Spot Friday With $5.6 Million

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