‘I Wish It Made More Money’: Nia DaCosta Opens Up About ‘The Bone Temple’s’ Quiet Box Office Defeat
The ’28 Days Later’ franchise has always carried a particular kind of cultural weight, the sort that makes its returns feel like genuine cinematic events rather than simple horror sequels. When Danny Boyle revived the Rage-infected world with ’28 Years Later’ in 2025, it earned around $151 million worldwide and reignited fan enthusiasm for a story that had been dormant for nearly two decades. The follow-up, ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’, arrived as the second chapter in a planned trilogy, with Boyle and writer Alex Garland passing the directorial baton to Nia DaCosta, who brought her own distinct sensibility to the post-apocalyptic nightmare.
The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, and Chi Lewis-Parry, and follows young Spike’s harrowing encounter with the satanic cult led by the deeply unhinged Sir Lord Jimmy Crystal, while Dr. Ian Kelson pursues a discovery that threatens to reshape the infected world entirely. Critics embraced it almost unanimously. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 92% approval rating, with the consensus praising DaCosta’s direction as unnerving and O’Connell’s performance as inspired. Metacritic awarded it a score of 81 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim, while CinemaScore audiences graded it an A-, an improvement over its predecessor’s B.
Despite all of that, the box office told a very different story, and DaCosta has now addressed it directly. In a candid conversation with Empire, the director admitted she was let down by the commercial outcome, saying she wished the film had made more money, while stressing that she remains genuinely proud of what she created. It is a rare and honest moment from a filmmaker who poured real artistic conviction into a studio horror sequel, only to watch it fall short of expectations where ticket sales are concerned.
The Bone Temple earned just $58.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $63 million, a sobering figure for a film that arrived with critical goodwill and franchise momentum behind it. Its opening domestic weekend came in at an estimated $13 million, well below pre-release projections that had anticipated closer to $20 million, with overseas receipts adding another $16.2 million for a combined opening of under $30 million.
Several factors converged to undermine the film’s theatrical performance. January is historically considered a dump month, with studios releasing titles they expect to underperform due to holiday spending fatigue, harsh winter weather, and competing events in primetime. Critics of the rollout also pointed to an almost invisible marketing campaign, with some noting they had not seen a single television commercial for the film ahead of its release. Sony also largely concealed Cillian Murphy’s brief but significant cameo in the film, which could have served as a major promotional hook given the scale of anticipation surrounding his return to the franchise.
For DaCosta, this is the second time a film she directed has been embraced by critics and overlooked by the wider audience. ‘The Marvels’, her MCU entry starring Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris, became one of the lowest-grossing entries in Marvel history despite a dedicated fanbase. The Bone Temple’s struggles have continued beyond theaters, with streaming numbers on Netflix also coming in lower than expected, suggesting the film has so far struggled to find even a second-wave audience at home.
The third film in the planned trilogy remains in development, with Danny Boyle reportedly in line to return as director and Cillian Murphy in discussions to take on a larger role. Whether Sony commits to completing the story may depend on how the franchise performs in the months ahead, making DaCosta’s quiet moment of candor feel all the more poignant. Given her track record of quality work that audiences seem to discover only after the moment has passed, it is worth asking where you think the blame lies for ‘The Bone Temple’ missing its moment.
