July 22, 2003 - Fox Searchlight is making a very unusual move. 29 days after "28 Days Later" hit theaters, the studio is adding an alternate ending.
Audience members who stick around through the final credits will get to see director Danny Boyle's original, 'darker' ending. A message saying, "What if. . .", will appear on the screen followed by the ending Boyle intended for the film.
Fox Searchlight is attaching this alternate ending to over 1,200 prints. In a statement released by the studio Boyle stated, "The alternate ending is bloody scary, but I think that the pure horror enthusiast will enjoy seeing it the way it was originally conceived."
President of Marketing Nancy Utley added, "Fox Searchlight has leapt into territory no studio has ventured into because the fans wanted it. The amount of Internet traffic we received about this ending was amazing and too great an opportunity to pass up."
As of today, "28 Days Later" is the second most successful release from Fox Searchlight Pictures, following only "The Full Monty." The film has earned more than $33 million since hitting theaters.
"28 Days Later" - The Official Synopsis
In "28 Days Later" a powerful virus is unleashed on the British public following a raid on a primate research facility by animal rights activists. Transmitted in a drop of blood and devastating within seconds, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realizing that the deadly virus is not the only thing that threatens them...
Source: Fox Searchlight
