Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Just Shattered Franchise Records at the Box Office

Video game adaptations have a rocky history in Hollywood, and the ‘Resident Evil’ series has seen more ups and downs than most. The franchise has been kicking around for 24 years, with a long run of sequels and a critically panned reboot along the way. Few people expected the latest attempt to become an event.

Sony’s most recent reboot attempt, 2021’s ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’, was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $42 million worldwide against a $25 million budget. That made the studio’s decision to hand the property to Zach Cregger, the director of ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons’, an intriguing gamble. Tracking ahead of the weekend suggested a domestic opening of around $40 million to $50 million.

Those predictions turned out to be far too cautious. Culture Crave reported that ‘Resident Evil’ opened to $108.3M at the global box office, which marks the best start ever for the franchise and Cregger’s biggest start as a filmmaker. Its production budget was $75M.

The film earned $60 million from 3,684 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, plus $48.3 million internationally. That is the largest debut in the series, topping 2010’s ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’, which opened to $26 million without adjusting for inflation. Deadline noted that the opening alone beats the global final of the original 2002 movie ($102.9M) and the last title, ‘Welcome to Raccoon City’ ($41.9M).

The film also beats Cregger’s previous best. Deadline reports it tops the $70M worldwide opening of last year’s ‘Weapons’, which finished with $270 million worldwide against a $38 million budget. For a filmmaker who broke out with ‘Barbarian’ in 2022, it is another sign that his name has become a draw on its own.

‘Resident Evil’ opens to $108.3M at the global box office 🧟‍♂️ • Best start ever for the franchise • Zach Cregger‘s biggest start as a filmmaker • Production budget was $75M https://t.co/zQAXXabAf1

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) September 20, 2026

Reviews and word of mouth played a big part. The movie holds a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, according to Happy Mag, making it the highest-rated film of Cregger’s career so far, while opening-night audiences gave it a B+ CinemaScore. Rentrak analyst Paul Dergarabedian credited Cregger with making a familiar franchise feel fresh, and pointed to Gen Z’s love of horror as a major driver of the box office.

Horror has been thriving all year. Rentrak notes that horror movies this year, including hits like ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’, have generated over $1.1 billion at the domestic box office. The film stars Austin Abrams as an original character named Bryan, who is thrust into Raccoon City, with Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser among the supporting cast.

The first trailer for Zach Cregger's ‘RESIDENT EVIL’ has been released.

In theaters on September 18. pic.twitter.com/eeVCAGzy6M

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 30, 2026

The weekend’s numbers also give Sony a badly needed win. The film took first place domestically, ahead of ‘Practical Magic 2’, which fell about 59% to $12.2 million in its second weekend. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ placed third, and Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ took fourth.

The bigger question is legs. With a budget of about $75 million, Geeks + Gamers estimates the movie needs roughly $225 million globally to break even, and suggests it could reach $300 million if it performs near the historical average. For reference, 2016’s ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ remains the series’ highest grosser at $312M, with 51% of that coming from China.

Much will depend on how the film holds in its second weekend. But for now, the numbers are a strong argument that audiences were ready for a bolder take on the franchise. And with fans already calling for Cregger to return for a follow-up, the future of the series looks a lot brighter than it did a week ago.

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