Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Reboot Could Deliver the Franchise’s Biggest Opening Weekend Ever

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot is starting to look like a very big deal at the box office. The movie has not even opened yet, but early tracking suggests it could give the long-running video game franchise its biggest start ever.

According to tracking data shared by Global Box Office on social media, Resident Evil is currently expected to make between $120 million and $150 million worldwide during its opening weekend. That would be a huge result for the series, especially considering how much the older movies depended on overseas audiences to make their money.

The new movie is also showing strong signs in pre-sales. Tickets are already available in several countries, and premium formats such as IMAX are reportedly doing especially well overseas. If that demand continues through opening day, the final weekend could land near the higher end of the current forecast.

The domestic numbers are also looking much better than anything the franchise has seen before. Deadline previously reported early tracking around $35 million for the U.S. and Canada opening. That estimate has started to look more promising as ticket sales have come in stronger than expected.

Boxoffice Pro has gone even higher, putting the movie in the $40 million to $50 million range for its domestic debut. If that prediction is correct, Resident Evil would easily set a new opening weekend record for the movie series.

For comparison, the franchise’s biggest domestic opening came from Resident Evil: Afterlife in 2010. That film opened with about $26.6 million in North America. The new movie could pass that number by a wide margin in just its first few days.

A big reason for the interest is Zach Cregger. The director became a major name in horror after Barbarian surprised audiences and became a strong word-of-mouth hit. He followed that with Weapons, which became an even bigger commercial success.

Weapons opened with $43.5 million domestically and eventually made about $151.5 million in North America and $270 million worldwide. The movie had a reported budget of only $38 million, making that result even more impressive. Cregger now has a chance to take that success into one of the most recognizable horror franchises in gaming.

The new Resident Evil is not a direct remake of one of the games. Instead, Cregger and writer Shay Hatten created a new story set inside the world of the franchise. Austin Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier who finds himself caught in a terrifying fight for survival during one brutal night. Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser are also part of the cast.

That decision has not pleased every Resident Evil fan. Some longtime players wanted the reboot to adapt one of the games more closely. Others have been worried about another movie changing the formula instead of bringing the games to the big screen in a more direct way.

Still, the early ticket sales suggest that fan concerns have not stopped people from buying tickets. The combination of the Resident Evil name, Cregger’s recent success and a major international marketing campaign appears to be creating plenty of interest.

Sony is also giving the movie a major worldwide push. Cregger and Abrams have been taking part in international press events as the studio tries to build excitement before release. The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 18, the same day Warner Bros. releases Practical Magic 2.

If the $120 million to $150 million global estimate from Global Box Office is anywhere close to accurate, Resident Evil could have one of the strongest openings ever for a video game movie. The big question now is whether the final numbers can reach that $150 million mark.

After years of trying to find the right way to bring Resident Evil back, Cregger may finally have the movie that turns the franchise into a true global box office hit.

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