’28 Years Later’ Sets Streaming Release Date on Netflix Along With Original Movie

Credit: BFA / Miya Mizuno / Sony Pictures

Danny Boyle’s zombie thriller 28 Years Later will begin streaming on Netflix on September 20 with the original 2002 movie also set to stream on Netflix US.

2025 has been a pretty big year for movies so far, from instant classics like Sinners, to the triumphant return of Superman. One of the most significant releases of the year has come from esteemed British filmmaker Danny Boyle, who returned to his seminal ’28 Days Later’ zombie franchise for a long-awaited threequel — over two decades after the original movie. 

Releasing in June 2025, 28 Years Later was a massive success. In fact, a sequel — The Bone Temple — is already set for release in January 2026. The movie, written by Alex Garland, executive produced by Cillian Murphy, and helmed by Danny Boyle, was shot in Boyle’s signature bare-bones style, in which he used a ton of rigged-up iPhones to achieve a gritty aesthetic. It boasts an all-star cast, including Jodie Comer (Isla), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Jamie), Ralph Fiennes (Dr. Ian Kelson), and 14-year-old breakout star Alfie Williams (Spike).

28 Years Later became available for premium video on demand on July 29, available for purchase through Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and others. Netflix is making its debut on a streaming service. It becomes available in the US library on September 20. This comes a few days before the movie gets a physical media release in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on September 23.

This release date only applies to Netflix in the United States – other regions will have to wait for another 1-3 years. 

The movie arrives on Netflix much earlier than first anticipated. As we’ve covered with Sony Pictures movies, which head to Netflix under a first window deal, it typically takes 120 days for their films to come to Netflix following initial theatrical release. 

Set 30 years after the breakout of the apocalypse through the Rage virus, 28 Years Later picks up the story on a secluded island off the coast of northern England, where a tight-knit group of survivors has forged out a stable community, cut off from the mainland but for a causeway that’s only walkable at certain hours. However, when one of the survivors decides to venture off to the mainland, discovering secrets and horrors, it threatens the security of the sanctuary that’s been built. 

How did 28 Years Later perform at the box office?

In terms of box office success, 28 Years Later is currently the 18th highest-grossing movie of 2025 at the global box office (as of September 6, 2025), generating over $150M. This places it above Mickey 17 and John Wick spinoff Ballerina. 

Currently, neither 28 Days Later nor 28 Weeks Later is in the Netflix US library, although we’ve learned that this is changing with 28 Days Later arriving on September 20th, a couple of days before the new movie touches down. 

For the 28 Weeks Later, the movie currently resides on Hulu.

For the forthcoming sequel, subtitled The Bone Temple, director Danny Boyle has stepped down from the helm. The film will instead be directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman, The Marvels). 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in theatres on January 6.

28 Years Later certainly divided opinion among viewers. Did you enjoy it? Tell us in the comments down below!