Box Office: ’28 Years Later’ Chomps on $14 Million Opening Day; ‘Elio’ Facing Pixar’s Lowest Debut Ever as ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Rules Again

Sony’s “28 Years Later” got a running start at the domestic box office with $14 million across Friday and preview screenings. Meanwhile, Disney’s original animated adventure “Elio” is in danger of hitting the lowest debut ever for a Pixar production. Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon” is getting a second weekend on top of North American charts.

In second place, “28 Years Later” is now dashing toward an opening north of $30 million — a bit ahead of projections heading into the weekend. It’d be a good start for the hopeful franchise rejuvenator, which cost $60 million. Sony won the production in a bidding war, which saw studios vying for a package billed as the reunion of director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, teaming for a belated follow-up to their zombie thriller “28 Days Later,” released in 2002 (though this new entry arrives only 23 years later).

A sequel to “28 Years Later,” directed by Nia DaCosta and subtitled “The Bone Temple,” has already been filmed and is set to release from Sony in January 2026. A third, trilogy-capping entry is still awaiting a production greenlight, dependent on the box office turnout for this entry.

Reviews have been terrific for the sequel, which introduces a new cast that includes Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes and newcomer Alfie Williams. General audiences seem to be more mixed, with survey firm CinemaScore polling early moviegoers to a “B” grade — not stellar, though also in the tradition of horror films scoring lower.

Meanwhile, “Elio” earned $9 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,750 locations. It’s some serious whiplash for Pixar, which, just one year ago, scored its second-biggest North American opening ever ($155 million) with “Inside Out 2.” (That movie now ranks as the second-highest-grossing animated feature of all time.) Now, the premier animation studio is projecting its lowest domestic debut ever for “Elio,” well behind the $29 million showing for “Elemental” in 2023.

Now, “Elemental” did bounce back and wind up a modest theatrical success, finishing with $484 million globally and a stellar 5.22x multiplier. And it wouldn’t necessarily be impossible for “Elio” to do something similar, with even better reviews and a fantastic “A” grade on CinemaScore. But unless things turn around, this has to be judged as a rough start for the original animated film, which cost $150 million to produce.

“How to Train Your Dragon” still gets the top spot in its sophomore outing, earning another $10.8 million on Friday. Projections for the second weekend are now at $35.7 million, which would mark a 58% drop from its opening. Total domestic gross has a shot at hitting $160 million through its first 10 days in theaters, ranking it as the seventh-highest-grossing North American release of the year.

Another live-action remake is in fourth place, with Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” earning another $3 million on Friday. Now in its fifth weekend of release, the PG-rated comedy is looking at about $10 million over the three-day frame to push its domestic total to $387 million. This weekend, the film is passing “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II” ($382 million) to become the 55th-biggest domestic grosser of all-time.

Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” rounds out the top five, putting up another strong hold with a projected 33% drop in its fifth outing. After the weekend, the Tom Cruise action sequel will be at about a $178.9 million domestic total through 31 days of release — an uptick from the 2023 franchise predecessor “Dead Reckoning,” which finished with $171 million.

Just below, A24’s “Materialists” is showing a decent hold in sixth place, projecting a sophomore outing of about $6 million, which would mark a 45% drop from its opening. Domestic total should hit $24 million through 10 days.

Also opening this weekend, Magenta Light Studios has the Rebel Wilson action comedy “Bride Hard” in 1,165 locations. After landing poor reviews and a ho-hum “B-” grade on CinemaScore, the film will struggle to hit $1 million in its debut, opening outside of the top 10.