This is why I posed the question, because I also feel it's going to be very close, and I even lean towards Elio to win the battle. But $9m is simultaneously a lot to get back and also not very much. I'm torn. There are a lot of childrens options out there, but 28YL getting only a B CinemaScore and 65% Audience RT score isn't great. Elio's numbers are much better in that regard. And also options for adults are coming with F1 and M3GAN 2.0 and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and it didn't open so high to be able to fend these off.

28 Years Later is a rare case where adding the words "Part One" to the title would have actually helped. Dune, Wicked, Spiderverse, etc.. are the types of films people obsess about online and therefore most would already know the story was split into multiple parts. I highly doubt many people expected that from a legasequel horror film. They didn't set expectations the right way.

I didn't realize it, but if not for Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle and Garland's average total domestic gross for a film is only about 20m. Geez, they just don't make crowd pleasing blockbusters..

It's day 5, and Elio already has its first day ahead of 28 Years Later:

2 (3) Elio Walt Disney $3,832,879 +76%
3 (2) 28 Years Later Sony Pictures $3,611,846 +29%