How much 28 Years Later needs to make to break even
28 Years Lateris soaring at the global box office thanks to positive reviews and an established fanbase, but is it close to breaking even? To understand that, you must first look at the movie’s budget.
It’s no exaggeration to say28 Days Laterdidn’t just flip the zombie genre on its head – it changedhorrorcinema forever. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s tour de force film only had $8 million to work with, but this was used to its advantage.
Grainy digital cameras and guerrilla-style techniques only made it feel terrifyingly real, and these efforts paid off. 28 Days Later earned $82 million worldwide at the box office, and it’s widely regarded to be one of thebest horror movies of all time.
But much like theAlpha zombies, 28 Years Later is a different beast altogether. With a larger budget and heightened stakes, the new movie needs to make far more than its predecessor to be considered a success.
How much does 28 Years Later need to make to break even?
28 Years Laterhas a reported budget of $60 million, making itnearly 10 times more expensiveto make than 28 Days Later. This means itneeds to make approximately $150 million to break even.
If you’re left scratching your head at this figure, just know that movies generally need to make approximately two-and-a-half times their original budget to break even due to the additional costs such as fees to exhibitors, merchandising, and taxes.
Studios only keep about 50-60% of box office revenue (and less from international markets), and there are also marketing costs to factor in.
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As for why the budget is so much higher than 28 Days Later, the first is inflation – the original dropped in 2002, meaning prices have risen. The same can be said for the cast.
AlthoughCillian Murphyis a huge star now, 28 Days Later was his breakthrough role. 28 Years Later, on the other hand, has big name actors in the cast, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes.
Another significant cost guzzler is thefilming technique. The crew used modified iPhone 15 Pro Max cameras to shoot the new movie, adapting them with (expensive) cine lenses and hooking up as many as 20 of the Apple devices on one rig.
Setting up dozens of smartphones with professional-grade accessories, software, and post-production tweaks is a costly endeavor, especially when trying to match the cinematic quality of a big-screen horror epic.
Thanks to its impeccable story and performances, bonkers ending driving word-of-mouth hype, and established fanbase, the results for Boyle’s follow-up are looking very promising.
How much 28 Years Later has made at the box office
Since landing in cinemas on June 28, 2025, 28 Years Later has crossed the $100 million mark in just two weekends, earning more than$103 millionat the global box office so far.
Not only is it well on track to break even and beyond, but it also breaks a franchise record, officially becoming thehighest-earning moviein the series compared with the first and its divisive follow-up, 28 Weeks Later ($65 million worldwide).
However, these promising signs and solid reviews – it currently has a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics – haven’t prevented a significant drop-off in domestic sales.
The film made more than $30 million at the domestic box office during its opening, with this total rising to $50 million after the second weekend, marking a 32% drop in earnings.
Its ongoing performance should give some indication as to how28 Years Later: The Bone Templewill fare. The sequel has already been made, with a release date set for August 25, 2025.
Boyle and co. are planning for the new movies to be a trilogy, with a third film to close the series. But the threequel will only go ahead if the first two are successful. We’ll no doubt get a clear picture in the weeks to come.
Until then, check out ourbreakdown of the 28 Years Later ending, aJim theory for The Bone Temple, and thebest zombie movies ever made.
