Sony’s 28 Years Later made a strong start at the box office with $5.8 million from Thursday previews. This is a big number for a horror film and beats other recent horror openings like Final Destination Bloodlines ($5.5M) and Scream VI ($5.7M).
However, early audience reactions are mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 68% audience score, and only 54% of viewers say they would definitely recommend it. Older male viewers liked it the most. Still, critics love the movie, giving it a 92% score.
Meanwhile, Disney and Pixar’s Elio brought in $3 million from previews on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s expected to open with about $20–$25 million this weekend. Audiences so far are giving it 4½ stars, especially kids and parents.
Right now, How to Train Your Dragon is holding the number one spot at the box office, earning $9.7 million on Thursday alone. Its total so far is $123.4 million.
The box office is seeing a boost this week partly due to the Juneteenth holiday, with most films showing small increases in ticket sales.
Both 28 Years Later and Elio will compete this weekend as audiences head back to theaters.
