28 Years Later: The Bone Temple director Nia DaCosta has shared her thoughts on the zombie horror sequel’s underperformance at the box office, despite appraising reviews and audience approval, as shared in a sit-down with Empire.
The film is the 2026 sequel to the 2025 film 28 Years Later, which was directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland, seeing Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, and Ralph Fiennes return from the first film, joined by newcomers Erin Kellyman and Chi Lewis-Parry. It charts Williams’ Spike as he is kidnapped by O’Connell’s Sir Lord Kimmy and his Evil-worshipping gang, while a rage-infused virus devastates those it infects into vicious monsters, and Fiennes’s Dr Ian Kelson makes a human connection with an Alpha infected.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is the fourth film in Boyle and Garland’s 28 Days Later film series, which began with the influential 2002 release and opened with the rage virus, which took down the UK in 28 days. DaCosta’s turn directing the franchise turned out just $58.5 million at the box office from a budget of $63 million, while Boyle’s film from 2025 made $151.3 million from a budget of $60 million.
“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 filmmaker shared. “I made a great film, and I’m really proud of it, and people liked it.”
DaCosta also considered that a seven-month separation between 28 Years Later and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple meant the follow-up just came “maybe too soon” as she experienced people not realising the Bone Temple was a sequel to the 2024 film, and not people still recommending the first one.
After reflecting on peers reassuring her career in filmmaking will be a long and successful one, the director still reflected on how when The Bone Temple “came out, and it didn’t do as well in terms of the money it made”, she “was disappointed.”
She also concluded how she feels “happy that when people find the film, they’re going to enjoy the film,” yet still wishes it “made more money, but I’m really proud of it.”
There are current wishes and strives for the budget to make the planned third 28 Years Later film, which would see Cillian Murphy reprise his role from 28 Days Later and his cameo at the end of The Bone Temple.
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