‘Resident Evil’ Is Closing in on a Massive Box Office Milestone, and Its Biggest Markets Haven’t Even Opened Yet
For years, the ‘Resident Evil‘ film franchise felt like a property Hollywood couldn’t quite crack, but Zach Cregger’s reboot is rewriting that story at the box office. The last attempt at a fresh start, ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’, opened to just $5.3 million in 2021 and topped out around $42 million worldwide. That made Sony’s decision to try a genuine gamble again.
Cregger arrived with serious horror credentials, though. His breakout ‘Barbarian’ made more than $46 million on a budget under $5 million, and ‘Weapons’ went on to earn $270 million worldwide on a $38 million budget. His take on Capcom’s games stars Austin Abrams as a medical courier who has to survive a zombie outbreak while making a delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital.
The film came out of the gate with a franchise record, opening to $60 million in North America and adding $48.3 million overseas for a $108.3 million worldwide launch. Now, just one weekend later, the reboot has reached an estimated $196 million worldwide in its second weekend.
The international side keeps growing too. The film added $27 million across 65 overseas markets this weekend, a 45% drop, pushing its international total to $93 million. Domestically, the movie faced tougher competition. ‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ took the top spot on Friday with $11.2 million, while ‘Resident Evil’ slipped to fourth with $6.9 million from 3,684 locations and was projected to add another $23.5 million over its second weekend.
The most exciting part of this run might be what hasn’t happened yet. China opens October 5, followed by Japan on October 9, meaning the film is approaching this milestone without either territory contributing a single dollar.
That has analysts sounding increasingly bullish. Dread Central argued that pre-release projections were underselling the film, suggesting it could launch into another stratosphere if audiences in those markets turn out. Fans online are just as confident. Replying to the news on X, one user called it an impressive film and a run for the franchise, predicting it will become the highest-grossing entry without a doubt.
The first trailer for Zach Cregger's ‘RESIDENT EVIL’ has been released.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 30, 2026
In theaters on September 18. pic.twitter.com/eeVCAGzy6M
The financial picture looks healthy for Sony. The film carries a $75 million production budget, and using the common rule that marketing roughly matches that figure, its break-even point sits around $150 million. With the worldwide total now well past that line, the reboot is firmly in profitable territory. Critics have been on board from the start as well. The film currently holds a 95% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the best-reviewed video game movie ever on the platform.
The opening weekend alone was already historic. It surpassed the global final of the original 2002 movie at $102.9 million and dwarfed the failed ‘Welcome to Raccoon City’ reboot. It also set a personal record for Cregger, topping the $70 million worldwide debut of ‘Weapons’.
The next target is the big one. The highest-grossing installment in the series remains ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ with $312.2 million globally, a record Cregger’s film looks well-positioned to break in the coming weeks. With two major Asian markets still ahead, the franchise’s biggest-ever box office run could arrive sooner than anyone expected.
Do you think Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil will become the highest-grossing film in the franchise?
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