The Trailer for 28 Years Later Garnered Such Massive Attention, Leading to a Digital Revival of 28 Days Later
Maybe it was the vast number of spectators who kept the 28 Years Later trailer on constant replay to figure out if it was indeed Cillian Murphy portraying a zombie (spoiler alert, it wasn't), that led to such an astounding number of views since its launch a week prior. The figures were so high for the Danny Boyle-Alex Garland trilogy's third installment that it prompted Sony to intensify promotions for the original film in the series, 2002's 28 Days Later.
As reported by Deadline, "not only was the 28 Years Later trailer the most watched horror trailer of 2024 with 60.2M global views, but it also holds the second-highest trailer view count of all time behind It Chapter Two (96M views, $91M opening). Currently, the 28 Years Later trailer has garnered 146.1M global views." That's an alarming amount of undetectable decay! The view counts do not include TikTok, the trade notes, as TikTok viewership numbers can be influenced by studio advertising, meaning potentially even more people have watched the trailer more times than reported.
With 28 Years Later scheduled for release under Sony's banner in June 2025, the studio is capitalizing on the zombie craze and rebooting 28 Days Later, the series' first installment, which also includes 2007's 28 Weeks Later. According to Deadline, "the films were released respectively by Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic labels at the former 20th Century Fox." Sony's release of 28 Days Later will be available for purchase and rental on December 18, a delightful day for zombie enthusiasts who've been yearning to revisit the long-inaccessible (physically or digitally) title.
Good news for those looking to make it a double feature: 28 Weeks Later can be streamed on various platforms, including Disney+ and Prime Video. 28 Years Later hits theaters on June 20, 2025.
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In light of the immense success of the trailer for '28 Years Later', IO9 anticipates a surge in interest for future movies that explore the realm of technology-infused horror. With the anticipation building for the 2025 release of '28 Years Later', fans can also look forward to revisiting the original 2002 movie, '28 Days Later', as Sony plans to release it for purchase and rental.
