Tracking Lands on $35M, With Room to Climb
Sony's Resident Evil, directed by Zach Cregger, hit tracking on the morning of September 3, 2026, with a $35 million domestic opening projection for its September 18 theatrical bow. Deadline reports that strong first-day sales on September 1 could push the forecast higher, possibly to $50 million. The film was co-written by Cregger and Shay Hatten and follows Bryan, a medical courier, as he races for survival after arriving in Raccoon City.
A New High for the Franchise
Even at $35 million, the reboot would set a record for the Constantin and Columbia Pictures Resident Evil series, surpassing the $26.6 million North American opening of the 2010 installment Resident Evil: Afterlife, which had benefited from the post-Avatar digital 3D boom. The new film is the seventh title in a series whose cumulative global gross stands at $1.27 billion.
Cregger's Pull and Audience Composition
Deadline attributes the film's tracking strength to genre appeal and to Cregger's profile following Weapons, his Oscar-winning feature that grossed $151.5 million domestically and $270 million worldwide. Among ticket buyers, Resident Evil is strongest with men under 25 in first-choice intent, followed by men over 25. Its first-choice number already exceeds those for Weapons ($43.5 million U.S. opening), Alien: Romulus ($42 million) and 28 Years Later ($30 million), though it trails Mortal Kombat II's first-choice by 23 percent.
Tracking Caution and Comparison to Mortal Kombat II
Deadline flags an asterisk over whether Resident Evil can reach audiences beyond its core fan base, even as first-day sales drew strong word of mouth. The outlet cites Mortal Kombat II, which earlier had tracked toward a $50 million opening in mid-May before underperforming with a $38.5 million debut, as a cautionary comparison for tracking-driven forecasts.
Practical Magic 2 on Deck
Practical Magic 2 from Warner Bros., opening the Friday following Resident Evil's debut, is separately looking at a $40 million-plus start, according to Deadline's same-day report. That film is positioned alongside Resident Evil as one of the biggest openers of the post-Labor Day frame.
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