Resident Evil Movie Sets New Box‑Office Record
After just two days in theaters, Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie has already managed to surpass every other movie in the franchise.As reported by Variety, Zach Cregger's Resident Evil has broken records with a $60…
After just two days in theaters, Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie has already managed to surpass every other movie in the franchise.
As reported by Variety, Zach Cregger's Resident Evil has broken records with a $60 million domestic haul across its first weekend, which exceeds the early projections of $40 to $50 million. In addition to the $48.3 million internationally, the movie has a global debut of $108.3 million. This clears the previous record held by 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which opened to $26 million in North America.
This marks a major turnaround for Resident Evil movies, as Sony’s last attempt at a reboot, 2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, struggled with $42 million worldwide against a $25 million budget and poor critical reception. Cregger’s version, which was produced for $75 million, is already tracking far ahead thanks to strong reviews and the director’s previous horror entries with Barbarian and Weapons.
Resident Evil’s Ending Is Driving Buzz After Its Record Box‑Office Debut
Cregger Says "You Cannot Not Have Ideas" For Possible Sequels
Industry analysts quoted by Variety credit Cregger with revitalizing the franchise. Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak says that putting him in charge “made something familiar feel fresh and original again,” noting that Gen Z’s recent enthusiasm for horror cinema has helped drive the box office success. The reboot currently holds a strongly positive 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ CinemaScore, both unusually strong for an R‑rated horror film.
Variety’s reporting also places the reboot’s success within the broader box‑office landscape. As the weekend’s only major release, Resident Evil easily took the top spot. For Resident Evil, the strong debut suggests that films based on the video game franchise may finally have a stable foundation for future installments.
David A. Gross of FranchiseRe told Variety that this is “a big comeback after the previous episode stumbled during the pandemic,” adding that the combination of strong reviews and audience scores should help sustain the movie in the coming weeks. After setting a new record for the franchise, the only way from here is up.
This success is also despite the movie's ending, which has become a major talking point among early viewers. Test‑screening and opening day reactions have focused heavily on how the final sequence reframes expectations for what fans may have wanted from a Resident Evil adaptation.
Resident Evil R Horror Sci-Fi Release Date September 18, 2026 Runtime 90 Minutes Director Zach Cregger Writers Shay Hatten, Zach CreggerCast
- Austin Abrams Bryan
- Paul Walter Hauser Carl
- Kali Reis Pauline
- Zach Cherry Dave