28 Years Later: The Bone Temple was no match for “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which remained No. 1 at the domestic box office in its fifth weekend of release.

“The Bone Temple” stumbled with $13 million over the weekend and a projected $15 million in its four-day debut over Martin Luther King Jr. Day —below expectations of $22 million over the long weekend. The film also collected $16.2 million from 61 overseas territories, with a global tally to $31.1 million.

“This is a steep drop from the third installment,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Critics’ reviews and audience scores are the best of the series. But returning after seven months is too quick, and it’s hurting the numbers.”

That could become a problem for Sony because “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” is the franchise’s most expensive film yet, costing $63 million to produce before marketing expenses. Directed by Nia DaCosta and written by series creator Alex Garland, “The Bone Temple” takes place after the previous film and brings back Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell and Alfie Williams as they continue to grapple with a Rage Virus that’s ravaging a post-apocalyptic Britain.

Avatar: Fire and Ash continued its reign with $13.3 million over the weekend and $17.2 million through the four-day frame.

James Cameron’s third Na’vi adventure has generated $363.5 million domestically and $1.31 billion globally.

Although a theatrical juggernaut, “Avatar 3” is running out of steam faster than the first two films, 2009’s “Avatar” and 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which stand as two of the biggest movies in history with $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively.

Hamnet

Chloe Zhao’s Shakespearean tragedy “Hamnet” added $1.3 million over the weekend and a projected $1.6 million through Monday while expanding to 718 theaters. The film has collected strong $15 million domestically during its platform rollout. Overseas, “Hamnet” has made $12.9 million for a global tally of $27.5 million.

Meanwhile, a major re-release, Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy — which returned to theaters for the 25th anniversary of “The Fellowship of the Ring” — earned $8 million from 1,680 theaters over the weekend and a projected $9.5 million through Monday. Fathom Entertainment set each film to play on a particular day, with “Fellowship of the Ring” generating $3.58 million on Friday, “The Two Towers” grossing $2.4 million on Saturday, and “The Return of the King” bringing in $2 million on Sunday. Those ticket sales are slightly behind the company’s last “LOTR” re-release in 2024, which grossed $8.2 million over the traditional weekend.

“Zootopia 2” was No. 3 with $9 million over the weekend and $11.6 million through Monday in its eighth (!) weekend of release. The animated sequel has remained a box office force for two months with $392 million domestically and $1.7 billion globally.

It now stands as the highest-grossing animated Hollywood film of all time, ahead of “Inside Out 2” ($1.69 billion). 

“Marty Supreme” captured fifth place with $5.4 million over the weekend and a projected $6.6 million through Monday’s holiday. The R-rated film has earned $80.8 million at the domestic box office, surpassing “Everything Everywhere All at Once” ($77 million) as A24’s highest-grossing film in North America.

“Marty Supreme,” which has only been released in select international territories so far, has grossed $17 million overseas and $97 million globally. At this point, “Everything Everywhere” remains A24’s highest-grossing worldwide release with $142 million, followed by Alex Garland’s dystopian thriller “Civil War” with $127 million worldwide.