20 Incredible Recent Movies That FLOPPED
19. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
The commercial success of last year's 28 Years Later seemed to indicate a lot of pent-up demand for the beloved horror franchise, given that it grossed more than $150 million on a $60 million budget.
Sony were confident enough in the entire endeavour that they shot it back-to-back with a sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which released barely six months later this past January.
Despite scoring better reviews than its predecessor, the Nia DaCosta-directed follow-up was a surprise box office bust, grossing a disastrous $58.5 million against a $63 million budget, in turn putting a potential threequel in serious doubt.
Sony and filmmaker Danny Boyle both claim it's still happening, but we'll see.
As for why The Bone Temple flopped? First and foremost, it likely paid for the perceived "sins" of its predecessor, whose sudden tonal shifts and jarring ending left casual moviegoers flummoxed, enough that they didn't return for another go-around.
And there's the fact that The Bone Temple simply came too soon after the previous film.
Sony would've been smart to space the two films out by at least a year, especially with 28 Years Later having a bewildering ending that audiences needed to marinate on for a while.