“28 Years Later” Breaks 2025 Horror Presale Record; “Ballerina” Earns $4 Million on Opening Night
According to cinemadrame news agency, Sony Pictures’ film “28 Years Later” has set the record for the highest horror movie presale in 2025, surpassing titles like “Sinners” and “Final Destination: Bloodlines.” This sequel has also outpaced presales of 2024 horror films, including “Nosferatu” and “Alien: Romulus.”
The first official trailer for “28 Years Later” garnered 60.2 million views in its first 24 hours, breaking the horror genre’s record. Other horror trailers saw: “A Quiet Place: Day One” with 46.6 million views, “Smile 2” with 33.1 million, and “Nosferatu” with 26.4 million. The “28 Years Later” trailer has won a “Golden Trailer” award and other accolades, including Best Sound Design.
The “John Wick” spin-off titled “Ballerina” has grossed between $3.5 million and $4 million on its opening night. This figure includes special Wednesday screenings. The $80-$90 million budgeted film “Ballerina” is expected to earn over $30 million in its domestic opening weekend. Comparable films like “Furiosa” made $26.3 million and “Alita: Battle Angel” made $28.5 million in their first three days of release.
With this initial performance, the spin-off, directed by Len Wiseman and starring Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves, falls short of Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch,” which is expected to gross $35 million in its third week of release.
“Ballerina” has received an audience score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is currently higher than all other films in the “John Wick” franchise, including “John Wick: Chapter 4” (93%). However, the film received a 72% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, while “John Wick” films have typically achieved scores between 86% and 94%.
“Ballerina’s” opening night gross of $3.5 million is higher than “Furiosa” ($3.5 million), “Alita: Battle Angel” ($2.4 million), and even “John Wick: Chapter 2” ($2.2 million). However, it is significantly behind “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” ($5.9 million) and “John Wick: Chapter 4” ($8.9 million).
“Ballerina” focuses on the group led by Anjelica Huston in “John Wick 3.” De Armas plays an assassin named Rooney, who seeks revenge for the murder of her family members. Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, and Keanu Reeves will also star in “Ballerina.” The screenplay was written by Shay Hatten, who also wrote Zack Snyder’s “Army of the Dead” and “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.”
