Katarzyna Petru
Zombies vs. aliens. Sony and Pixar have thrown their new titles into the Thursday race for viewers' attention. “28 Years Later” – the long-awaited return of Danny Boyle to his viral universe – has already grabbed over 5 million dollars from premiere screenings. And what about Pixar's “Elio”? A small start – between 2.5 and 3 million – but history teaches us that not all films take off right away.
Return After Years – and Straight Away with a Bang!
Sony isn't resting. “28 Years Later” is not just a sequel to the cult classic “28 Days Later,” but also a grand return of the Boyle & Garland duo. While the audience on Rotten Tomatoes approached the subject with a slight distance (67%), critics are almost unanimous – 92% positive reviews, the highest score in the history of this series. In comparison, last week's horror “Final Destination: Bloodlines” also received excellent reviews (92%), yet achieved a record opening solely through word of mouth.
Interestingly, “28 Years Later” started its screenings as early as noon. Preliminary forecasts are suggesting an opening in the range of $28–30 million, which sounds like a very solid hit for horror films. Especially considering that the previous installments opened lower – “28 Days Later” debuted with $10 million, while “28 Weeks Later” had just under $9.8 million.
Is Pixar Playing the Long Game?
So, what's happening at Pixar? "Elio," an original animation about a boy who accidentally becomes... the ambassador of Earth at a galactic assembly (seriously), started quietly - around 2.5-3 million from showings. But that's not unusual. "Elemental" started out that way too... and ended up with over 154 million dollars in the USA.
Critics already like "Elio" - 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and a "fresh" certification, which is better than "Elemental" at launch (73%). The audience hasn't weighed in yet, but if history repeats itself, Disney can sleep easy. After all, "Elemental" also started quietly, but thanks to the power of word-of-mouth marketing and good CinemaScore results (A), it did well.
And in the background? Dragons are stealing the show
If anyone was counting on one of these titles to dominate the box office this weekend, they might be in for a surprise. Still holding the top spot is the live-action "How to Train Your Dragon" from Universal/DreamWorks. Dean DeBlois's film has already raked in US$113.7 million and shows no signs of slowing down – it's estimated that its second weekend will bring in over US$40 million. And all signs point to it once again winning the race.
