Horror has proven time and time again to be a profitable genre, and that continues to be evident in 2025. The genre has seenkiller openingsfrom films such asSinnersandFinal Destination: Bloodlines, and it looks like Danny Boyle and his rage-infected zombies in28 Years Laterare about to continue that trend when the film opens in a couple of weeks. The film became available for advanced ticket sales on Tuesday, and it’s already impressing in a big way.
Per Deadline,28 Years Lateris the best horror pre-sale ticket seller of the year within its first 24 hours of availability. The film’s pre-sales outpaceSinnersandFinal Destination: Bloodlineswithin the same period of time, and it has also performed better than some of last year’s best horror openers, such asAlien: RomulusandNosferatu. For a little perspective on where28 Years Latercould be headed,Sinnersdebuted to $48 million whileFinal Destination: Bloodlineshad a franchise-best opening of $51.6 million. Tracking is seeing a $34 million+ opening for28 Years Later, but there are signs that it will outgross its tracking significantly.
‘28 Years Later’ Appears To Be Highly Anticipated
The hunger for this film was proven following the release of its first trailer. Within its first 24 hours of being online, the trailer reached 60.2 million global views, making it the biggest horror trailer debut of the year. For comparison’s sake, when the trailer was released last year, it topped the first 24 hours ofA Quiet Place: Day One(46.6 million views),Smile 2(33.1 million views) andNosferatu(26.4 million views). The marketing has been brilliant from the start, and it has only built anticipation for the last installment of this enduring franchise.
First ‘28 Years Later’ Reactions Reveal If the Zombie Sequel Was Worth the Wait
How does ‘28 Years Later’ compare to the beloved original?
The anticipation is likely because it has been years since the previous installment of the IP.28 Days Laterkicked things off in 2002, and that was followed up with28 Weeks Laterin 2007. Both films were well-received, and the years between that last film and this one have only allowed more horror fans to discover the franchise and build on its popularity. Sometimes space in between movies can be beneficial, and that appears to be the case here.
28 Years Lateris the start of a planned trilogy, with the first being directed by Boyle, who helmed 2002’s28 Days Later, and the second film being directed by Nia DaCosta. According to Boyle, the third film hasn’t officially been given the go-ahead because Sony is waiting to see how this first movie performs, but given the pre-sales, Sony will likely be moving ahead on that third installment following the opening weekend of28 Years Later. Fans will especially want to show up to ensure they see thefull return of Cillian Murphy, who headlined the first movie and is expected to return at the end of the second installment of the new trilogy before making a full return in the finale.
Directed by Boyle from a screenplay byAlex Garland,28 Years Latersees how survivors have managed to survive among the infected following the outbreak of the rage virus. However, once a father and son leave the island that is connected to a heavily defended mainland, they’ll discover that they were much safer where they were compared to the horrors of the outside world, where the infected continue to spread their rage. The film stars Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes.
28 Years Laterhits screens on June 20.
Source:Deadline
28 Years Later
