Zach Cregger's 'Resident Evil' Opens to Franchise-Best $60 Million

Franchise-best debut tops most prior domestic totals

Sony Pictures' "Resident Evil" earned $60 million from 3,684 U.S. and Canadian locations in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, the highest debut in the franchise since the first "Resident Evil" film in 2002. The opening exceeded the entire domestic run of most prior installments; the lone exception cited is "Resident Evil: Afterlife" (2010), which finished at $60.1 million unadjusted for inflation. Newser, the Winnipeg Free Press and Variety each characterized the result as the franchise's best start, while Vulture framed it as a record for both domestic and international launches.

Cregger's standing with horror audiences and the film's reception

The reboot is directed by Zach Cregger, whose previous horror releases "Barbarian" and "Weapons" posted outsized returns relative to budget; the Winnipeg Free Press noted that "Weapons" reached $270 million globally on a $38 million budget. PostTrak exit polls, reported by the same outlet, showed an audience that was 66% male and 75% under 35, awarding the film a B+ CinemaScore. Critics surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 95% score, a figure echoed across all four sources. Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian, told the Winnipeg Free Press that "Zach Cregger plus big franchise equals big bucks," adding that the filmmaker has become "the star of the movie."

Production cost and global split

The film carried a reported $75 million production budget, not including marketing and promotion, and added $48.3 million from international markets for a $108.3 million global opening. The Winnipeg Free Press also cited Rentrak data showing domestic horror releases, including "Obsession" and "Backrooms," have generated more than $1.1 billion at the North American box office year to date.

Rest of the weekend chart

"Practical Magic 2" finished second with $12.2 million from 4,163 North American theaters, a roughly 59% decline from its opening weekend, bringing its global cumulative to $76.8 million with an additional $7 million from international markets. Newser's published top four placed "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" third at $6.5 million and "The Odyssey" fourth at $4.9 million, though that list was truncated in the available evidence.

Cast and setting

Austin Abrams stars as a medical courier whose final assignment pits him against infected creatures in Raccoon City, a role that, as the Winnipeg Free Press pointed out, reunited him with Cregger after "Weapons." Vulture noted the casting shift from earlier franchise leads, writing that "Austin Abrams is our new Final Girl."

Final figures still pending

Newser flagged that final domestic grosses for the weekend were scheduled for release Monday, which will replace the Sunday studio estimates cited throughout this article.