If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of Infected running towards the 2025 movie schedule. The long-awaited arrival of 28 Years Later has certainly looked like an occasion to celebrate, even through its mere existence. And now it appears that the good news is starting to spread even further, as some early reports on the upcoming horror movie’s pre-sales will inspire the total opposite of Rage for anyone who’s looking forward to it.
Per Deadline’s reporting, advanced ticket sales for the potential trilogy starter surpassed four notable horror hits in the first 24 hours, raking in $34 million! Thanks to this feat, Sony’s first venture into the Danny Boyle/Alex Garland franchise is now the “best horror pre-seller of 2025,” as it surpassed Final Destination: Bloodlines and Sinners as well as the 2024 hits Alien: Romulus and Nosferatu.
I mean, can we really be that surprised, considering the speed of a garden variety Infected? Much like this year’s Final Destination legacy-quel, 28 Years Later sees its status as a legacy-quel as a positive. So, if we operate on the basic assumption that Bloodlines’ opening weekend box office is par for the course, our return to an isolated UK ravaged by the Rage Virus could blow the doors off of cinemas yet again.
Of course, a lot of that is going to depend on what happens this weekend, as Universal/DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon seems set for a stellar opening itself. And as we saw with Lilo & Stitch’s impressive box office hold, families have been showing up for new versions of old favorites. In a funny sort of way, that’s exactly what could happen with 28 Years Later, even if its legacy-quel approach ventures into new story territory - and minus the “family” audience.
With an estimated $75 million production budget on the books, it shouldn’t take too long for 28 Years Later to start making money. Even with the crowded box office scrum of upcoming movies like F1, M3GAN 2.0, and Jurassic World Rebirth all on the horizon, a slow but steady tide of repeat viewings could make all the difference on the international stage. Hopefully, that means we won’t have to wait long to hear if 28 Years Later’s final chapter has a green light.
The end is extremely night once again, as 28 Years Later hits theaters on June 20th, with its sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple set for a January 2026 debut! And if you want to catch the original 28 Days Later, that classic is currently streaming free with ads on Pluto TV!