As of today, 28 Days Later can be rented or purchased on digital platforms for the first time in years. This news should surely come as a relief, not only to fans of the beloved horror movie from 2002 but also to franchise newcomers excited to see the upcoming horror movie sequel, 28 Years Later (set for June 20th on the upcoming 2025 movies schedule), and wish to learn how the story begins first.
So why was writer Alex Garland and director Danny Boyle’s modern zombie movie classic – zombie being a term used lightly here since it is actually live humans infected with a rage virus overrunning London – unavailable for convenient home viewing for so long? We will tell you what we know, but first, let’s explain how 28 Days Later is finally able to invade our lives again.
Sony Recently Obtained The Rights To 28 Days Later
It was revealed in early 2024 in a Puck article that 28 Days Later producer Andrew Macdonald – who has also collaborated with Garland on more films, like his acclaimed A24 movies Ex Machina and Civil War – repurchased the rights to the film. Per the article, he would later sell the digital distribution rights to Sony, which is also releasing 28 Years Later. Since Sony doesn't have its own streaming service, as mentioned by IndieWire, this means fans will have to wait until it is licensed to a platform like Netflix if they would prefer to watch it that way. But for the time being, those who want to rent or purchase the movie digitally can find it available on Amazon.
Rights Issues Prevented Fans From Streaming 28 Days Later
While the actual reasons the movie has been hard to find on home video have been vaguely stated in reports, the legal unavailability of 28 Days Later on streaming or digital platforms like Amazon can be chalked up to rights issues involving its previous owner: Disney. The film was originally distributed by Searchlight Pictures (originally Fox Searchlight Pictures), which officially became a subsidiary of Disney in 2019. Soon after, the horror flick was no longer available to find, even on Disney-owned streaming sites, indicating the company might have lost the rights to distribute it.
Physical Copies Of 28 Days Later Have Even Been Hard To Find
Because Disney also stopped producing copies of 28 Days Later, those who kept their early 2000s era DVDs were the lone purveyors of the film during this dark time. The film could be found secondhand at thrift stores or online retailers. Of course, going that route would cost consumers upwards of $100-$200.
Watching 28 Weeks Later On Streaming Is Easy
Distributed by 20th Century Studios (when it was still called 20th Century Fox) in 2007, 28 Weeks Later – which follows a new group of characters months after the infection – is still owned by Disney and is currently available to stream with a Hulu subscription or even with a Disney+ subscription. However, like its predecessor, the DVD and Blu-ray are also out of print and quite expensive to buy secondhand online, including as part of international double sets with 28 Days Later.
Interestingly enough, this is not the first time a zombie movie has experienced a rights issue like this, as 1978’s Dawn of the Dead has never had a proper streaming home for a variety of reasons. Thankfully, 28 Days Later is no longer infected with that sort of problem and viewers can get the full scoop on or relive the rage virus’ origins before Cillian Murphy’s return as Jim in 28 Years Later.
