The weird reason why 28 Days Later is impossible to find on streaming

After the first trailer for 28 Years Later, you’re probably in the mood to revisit 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle’s iconic zombie movie – but it’s nowhere to be found on streaming, and there’s a strange reason.

It’s one of the most frustrating consequences of the streaming service boom: you’re direct debited up the wazoo with subscriptions to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and other platforms — and when you want to watch something specific, it isn’t available on any of them.

Sometimes, there’s a simple reason. Films are often licensed to streamers for limited amounts of time — if it’s not on any of the ones you’re subscribed to, chances are that it’s on another one (and with sod’s law, it’s probably the only one you don’t pay for).

In the case of 28 Days Later, one of the best horror movies of all time, it’s vanished from streaming and digital platforms altogether – and if you want to purchase it physically, it may cost you a small fortune.

How to watch 28 Days Later

Fox Searchlight Pictures

28 Days Later can only be watched one way: on DVD or Blu-Ray. It’s not available on any streaming platform across the world, nor can you buy or rent it digitally.

There’s a couple of weird things about this. Firstly, its sequel 28 Weeks Later is widely available on streaming; you can watch it on Hulu in the US, while UK viewers can stream it on Disney Plus.

Secondly, you can’t buy a new copy of 28 Days Later anymore. It’s officially out of print, meaning you’ll need to buy it secondhand… and it can be pretty pricey. If you look for it on eBay, prices range between $30 for the DVD and upwards of $150 for the Blu-ray (and if you want the steelbook, prepare to pay even more).

Why 28 Days Later isn’t on streaming

Searchlight Pictures

You can’t stream 28 Days Later because Disney lost the rights to the film, and Sony has yet to make the movie available on any platform.

28 Weeks Later was financed by Searchlight Pictures, now a subsidiary of Disney after its takeover of Fox, after the success of 28 Days Later. However, here’s the important thing to remember: while Searchlight distributed the original film, it was independently funded, so its rights are a bit more complicated.

In short, Sony acquired the rights to the first movie as part of its plans to produce 28 Years Later (and two sequels), but it’s unclear why the studio hasn’t struck a deal with a streaming platform.

28 Days Later is coming to digital in 2025

Thankfully, Sony is rectifying its mistake by making 28 Days Later available on digital again.

We don’t have an exact date for its VOD release, but it’s expected to be sometime in early 2025 before 28 Years Later’s release date, and you can register your interest now.

In the meantime, find out why it’s called 28 Years Later and not 28 Months Later, read more about the trailer’s creepy Easter egg you may have missed, and check out our list of the best movies of 2024.