’28 Years Later’ Seeing $5M+ Previews, ‘Elio’ Between $2.5M-$3M

EXCLUSIVE: Sony’s 28 Years Later is coming in with a preview gross tonight that’s well north of $5M, we are hearing from sources.

But don’t start comping it yet to New Line’s box office surprise sequel, Final Destination: Bloodlines which did $5.5M in previews for a franchise best opening of $51.6M.

Horror films are frontloaded, duh. Rotten Tomatoes audiences are being pretty hard on this Danny Boyle zombie movie at 67% despite critics giving the installment the best reviews the 23-year old franchise has ever seen at 92%. Final Destination: Bloodlines earned both great reviews and audience exits on Rotten Tomatoes respectively with 92% and 87%. Previews began at noon for 28 Years Later. Tracking spotted this viral infected undead post-apocalyptic movie at an opening between $28M-$30M. The movie reps a return for Boyle as director and Alex Garland as screenwriter after 2002’s 28 Days Later. That movie opened to $10M back in the day at 1,261 theaters, while 28 Weeks Later, which was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, opened to $9.8M back in 2007 at 2,303 theaters.

Meanwhile, Disney/Pixar’s Elio after two nights of previews is looking to be around $2.5M-$3M. That’s the amount of preview cash that Pixar’s summer 2023 movie, Elemental, banked before an $11.7M Friday and $29.6M opening. Elio is hoping to clear a 3-day between $20M-$25M. No RT audience scores yet, but critics enjoyed it at 86% certified fresh. Those reviews are stronger than Elemental at 73% fresh which wind up with an audience score of 93% and a solid A CinemaScore. As we mentioned, the best advertisement for Elio is the movie itself. In a marketplace where it’s hard to launch original animation, the hope is that the Adrian Molina-Madeline Sharafian-Domee Shi directed movie pulls an Elemental and posts some wild multiple of 5x or more (that pic ended its stateside run at $154.4M).

As we reported previously, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon is expected to hold the fort at No. 1 with a second weekend of $40M-plus. Through Wednesday, the Dean DeBlois directed live action take of his animated movie is up to $113.7M.