The box office performance over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend remains significantly below pre-COVID-19 levels, with Disney/20th Century’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” earning $17 million during the four-day span to secure its fifth No. 1 spot at the box office, surpassing the underperforming title.28 Years Later: The Temple of Bones.”
The second part of a planned trilogy of legacyquels to the 2002 horror film “28 Days Later” is expected to have a $15 million four-day debut from 3,580 theaters, about half of the $30 million three-day opening for the first “28 Years Later” this June and similar to the $15.2 million MLK weekend gross of “The Bye Bye Man” in 2017.
Despite the positive response from critics and fans of the first film who attended the opening night, “The Bone Temple” received Rotten Tomatoes scores of 94% from critics and 90% from audiences, along with an A- on CinemaScore, which is uncommon for a horror film and represents the highest reception score ever for director Nia DaCosta.
However, unless the word-of-mouth reaches a broader audience that was turned off by the more significant thematic and tonal shifts in the first “28 Years Later,””The Bone Temple” will have to rely on international box office earnings just to approach the $150 million global total of its predecessor. The performance over the next weekend will indicate if this early-year horror film has the potential for an extended theatrical run, despite having a $63 million budget co-financed by TSG Entertainment.
In any case, Sony remains dedicated to finishing the “28 Years Later” trilogy, having approved the last film in December. “28 Days Later” star Cillian Murphy will reprise his role along with director-producer Danny Boyle and writer-producer Alex Garland.
In total, the MLK holiday will generate $102 million over four days, which is 8.5% higher than last year’s $94 million. This marks the fourth MLK weekend since the pandemic, and none have surpassed the overall earnings seen during any MLK weekend from 2000 to 2020.
Back among the holiday movies, it’s pretty much certain — if not already clear — that “Zootopia 2” will finish as Hollywood’s top earning film of 2025 instead of “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
Although “Fire and Ash” remains at No. 1 this weekend, having surpassed $350 million in domestic earnings and $1.3 billion globally, it is not expected to exceed the $423 million domestic figures of “A Minecraft Movie” or the “Lilo & Stitch” remake. Its worldwide total is now projected by box office sources to reach approximately $1.5 billion after crossing the $1.3 billion mark this week.
In an interview conducted last week withTVBS in Taiwan, the series’ creator and director James Cameron stated that if he and Disney proceed with finishing his intended five-film “Avatar” series, the final two movies will have to be made with a reduced budget, considering the box office performance of “Fire and Ash,” which remains a significant success for Disney but indicates that even the Na’vi are not exempt from the principle of decreasing returns.
“Zootopia 2,” on the other hand, has surpassed Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” to become the highest-grossing film in Hollywood history with $1.7 billion globally. The movie earned an additional $12 million over the MLK weekend, pushing its domestic total to $390 million. Its strong performance has it on track to exceed the $423 million domestic earnings of “A Minecraft Movie” and “Lilo & Stitch,” making it the top domestic grosser of 2025.
Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid” might not be achieving astronomical box office figures, but it is still a success, becoming the studio’s first film in two years to cross the $100 million mark domestically, earning an additional $10.1 million over the MLK weekend. The Paul Feig thriller has now reached $108 million in the U.S. and $247.3 million globally.
Another major achievement is A24’s “Marty Supreme,” which earned $6.6 million over the MLK weekend, surpassing $80 million in domestic sales and breaking the previous studio record held by “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” With two months until Oscar Sunday and strong audience reactions due to Timothee Chalamet’s praised performance, it has the potential to be the first A24 film to reach $100 million in the U.S.
Beyond the top 5, Paramount’s “Primate” is expected to earn $6 million over four days, increasing its total to $20.5 million following two weekends, and it is anticipated to generate a small profit despite its reported $21 million budget.
On the prestige front, Neon’s Korean satire “No Other Choice” maintains its strong performance in limited release, earning $2.6 million from 695 screens, which raises its overall total to $6.5 million.
Focus Features’ “Hamnet,” which recently won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture — Drama, earned $1.6 million across 718 theaters this weekend, bringing its total to $15 million as it prepares to broaden its release next week.
In conclusion, the new distributor Row K Entertainment launched the Gus Van Sant thriller “Dead Man’s Wire” in 1,101 theaters, with projections of earning only $1.2 million over four days. The movie features Bill Skarsgard in a portrayal of a 1977 event where Indianapolis resident Tony Kiritsis detained a mortgage broker he thought was attempting to deceive him using a shotgun. “Dead Man’s Wire” premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year and holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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