The director of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple has reacted to its disappointing box office, amid continued radio silence on whether Part Three of the planned trilogy will ever be made.
The Bone Temple hit theaters in January 2026, just over half a year after 28 Years Later enjoyed box office success. Despite great review scores (IGN’s review returned an 8/10) , The Bone Temple made just $58 million worldwide, just over a third of 28 Years Later’s $151 million.
In an interview with Empire, director Nia DaCosta reflected on The Bone Temple’s box office performance, expressing surprise with the results.
“It’s so funny, because literally every barometer we use in the industry to determine whether or not a movie is good, and people like it and want to see it, was through the roof, and yet our box office wasn’t there,” DaCosta said. “I made a great film, and I’m really proud of it, and people liked it.”
DaCosta suggested there may be some truth to the suggestion that The Bone Temple came out too soon after 28 Years Later, causing audience confusion. “People were like, ‘Oh yeah, I saw that last summer!’ I’m like, ‘No, no, so there’s a sequel!’”
The question now is, will Part Three be made? In March, Cillian Murphy said he was keen to finish the trilogy following his cameo in The Bone Temple. In December, Sony confirmed it was moving forward with the third installment, with the decision coming over a month before the release of The Bone Temple itself. Elden Ring director Alex Garland, who wrote all the franchise entries thus far, was said to be working on the third entry, which does not have a title at this point. Danny Boyle has been open about wanting to direct it.
While you wait to find out, check out IGN’s article, 5 Questions We Have For the Next 28 Years Later Movie Following The Bone Temple.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
