A Great Horror Movie Trend Backfired For 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

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Dr. Kelson cautiously reaches out to Samson in 28 Years Later The Bone Temple

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Alex is the Senior Movies Editor, managing the New Movies team, as well as one of ScreenRant's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics. After graduating from Brown University with a B.A. in English, he spent a locked-down year in Scotland completing a Master's in Film Studies from the University of Edinburgh, which he hears is a nice, lively city. He now lives in and works from Milan, Italy, conveniently a short train ride from the Venice Film Festival, which he first covered for SR in 2024.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple came into its January 16 release date with plenty of heat. Last summer, Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later successfully restarted the horror franchise, garnering strong reviews and earning $151 million worldwide, piquing curiosity about the remaining two films in the planned trilogy. The Bone Temple, which was shot back-to-back with its predecessor and invited Nia DaCosta into the director's chair, was reviewed even better; to date, it sits at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, a franchise record.

However, even with the hype, the movie didn't land as expected at the box office. Despite being projected to bring in $20+ million over its domestic opening, it managed only $14.4 million across the four-day holiday weekend, according to Box Office Mojo; Avatar: Fire & Ash, which grossed $17.9 million, unexpectedly held onto #1 for the fifth consecutive week. The film's run has only just started, so there's still time for positive word-of-mouth to make an impact, but it's an undeniably disappointing turnout for a franchise hoping to make another installment.

The movie itself isn't really to blame – a number of factors would've contributed to underperforming early, including the audience's feelings about 28 Weeks Later. But having seen The Bone Temple, I believe one Hollywood trend that's typically been great for the horror genre actually did this one a disservice.

The Bone Temple Should've Been Released In October

Studios used to have a bad habit of only remembering horror exists in the so-called spookiest month of the year, but especially since the genre has emerged as one of the few consistent theatrical draws in the fraught post-pandemic landscape, that's changed. Horror is now an all-season staple in the release calendar. And it works!

In 2025, only one of the ten highest-grossing horror movies domestically was released in October: Black Phone 2. Ryan Coogler's Sinners became an outright phenomenon in April, as did Zach Cregger's Weapons in August. The Conjuring: Last Rites, which released in early September, became the second-highest-grossing horror film ever worldwide, unadjusted for inflation. All three of these happen to be Warner Bros. movies, and their strategic horror scheduling was a big part of their incredible success last year.

Movie

Release Date

2025 Domestic Box Office

Sinners	April 18, 2025	$279,989,632
The Conjuring: Last Rites	September 5, 2025	$177,756,445
Weapons	August 8, 2025	$151,572,492
Final Destination: Bloodlines	May 16, 2025	$138,254,739
Five Nights at Freddy's 2	December 5, 2025	$121,680,315
Black Phone 2	October 17, 2025	$77,378,880
28 Years Later	June 20, 2025	$70,446,897
Nosferatu (2024)	December 25, 2024	$47,488,220
I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025)	July 18, 2025	$32,165,634
Heart Eyes	February 7, 2025	$30,415,738

As a result of this strategy, however, October was a bit light last year. 2026 is currently looking similar. The only major, full-on horror movie currently on the calendar is Other Mommy on October 9, alongside the thriller Whalefall on October 16 and Remain, whatever M. Night Shyamalan has cooked up with Nicholas Sparks, on October 23.

The Bone Temple really should've been among them. Not only is it a great horror movie, with some strong zombie scares and a surprising amount of upsetting gore, but it's also dealing quite heavily with satanism. The film's centerpiece Ralph Fiennes scene, which I won't spoil here, would've hit differently close to Halloween than it does in mid-January, and fans of the genre would've been much more inclined to group together to experience it then.

In general, spreading out horror releases has been a successful strategy for Hollywood. But January might be a better time for something playful and lower stakes, like Primate, than a big, grim franchise entry like 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Some things are just built for October.