Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Just Pulled off One of the Best Second-Weekend Holds in Years

Horror reboots rarely enjoy long shelf lives at the box office, typically front-loading their entire earnings into a strong opening weekend before dropping off sharply once the initial hype fades. That pattern has become almost a given for the genre, making any film that defies it worth paying attention to.

Zach Cregger has spent the past several years quietly rewriting expectations for what horror films can achieve commercially, following up his breakout hit ‘Barbarian’ with the acclaimed ‘Weapons.’ His latest project appears to be continuing that streak in a genuinely unusual way.

After posting a franchise-record $60 million domestic opening weekend, ‘Resident Evil’ dropped only 62 percent on its second Monday in theaters, marking September’s best non-holiday Monday hold for an opening film this century, and putting the film on track for a $30 million to $35 million second weekend while remaining the number one film in America.

The film’s momentum has been building since its September 18 release. Heading into its debut, industry trackers had projected a domestic opening somewhere between $40 million and $50 million, a number that itself would have already been a franchise record. Instead, ‘Resident Evil’ blew past even the most optimistic projections, pulling in $60 million domestically and $108.3 million worldwide.

That performance easily outpaced every previous entry in the 24-year-old franchise. The previous domestic record belonged to 2010’s ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife,’ which opened to just $26 million, meaning Cregger’s version doubled the series’ prior high-water mark in a single weekend.

Zach Cregger’s RESIDENT EVIL goes INSANE on Monday and scores September’s best non-holiday Monday hold for an opener this century. After dropping only -62% yesterday, it is now on track for $30M–$35M this weekend, again the #1 film in America. https://t.co/Qpwoh2jH0z

— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) September 22, 2026

Much of that continued strength appears tied to the film’s critical reception, which has been unusually strong for the horror genre. ‘Resident Evil’ currently holds a 95 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a B+ CinemaScore grade, both franchise bests by a wide margin, giving the film the kind of word-of-mouth momentum that horror releases rarely sustain.

Box office analyst David A. Gross highlighted that combination directly. “This is a big comeback after the previous episode stumbled during the pandemic,” Gross said in comments reported by Variety. “Reviews are outstanding, and the audience score is excellent for the genre.”

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 film’s success also marks a new milestone for Cregger personally. It’s already surpassed the $70 million total earned by ‘Weapons,’ making ‘Resident Evil’ his biggest commercial success to date and extending his streak to three consecutive number-one horror openings, following ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons’ before it.

With a production budget of $75 million, the film had already recouped its costs by the end of its opening weekend once worldwide grosses were factored in, putting it in a strong position to keep climbing as it heads into its second weekend.

Given that 2016’s ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ currently holds the franchise’s all-time box office record at $312 million globally, Cregger’s version appears increasingly likely to challenge, or even surpass, that total as it continues its unusually resilient theatrical run. A hold this strong into a second weekend suggests audiences aren’t just showing up out of curiosity, but genuinely responding to the film itself.

For a franchise that’s struggled with diminishing returns over the past decade, this kind of sustained momentum represents a genuine turnaround, one that could reshape how Sony approaches future entries in the series.

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