The Resident Evil movies never had a hit like this. Zach Cregger’s reboot finished the weekend of Oct. 2–4 with about $125 million in North America after 17 days, second to Verity on the chart with $12.6 million in its third frame, per The Numbers. The best domestic total of any earlier film in the series was $60.1 million, from Resident Evil: Afterlife in 2010, Gulf News reported, citing the Associated Press.
It started big. The film opened Sept. 18 to $60 million domestically and $108.3 million worldwide, against a reported $75 million budget, then made $23.3 million in its second weekend, a 61% drop, and became the first in the franchise to pass $100 million domestic, Comic Basics reported. Its third Friday, at $3.6 million, was another franchise record, and worldwide it has passed $200 million.
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The audience is young. AP’s exit-poll figures put viewers under 35 at 75% of opening-weekend ticket buyers, and men at 66% of opening-night respondents. Reviews helped: Comic Basics lists 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, the series’ best, and a B+ from CinemaScore audiences.
Cregger, who made Barbarian and Weapons, wrote an original story that runs alongside Resident Evil 2, with Austin Abrams as a medical courier named Bryan and no familiar game characters. Some game fans pushed back, and he answered them ahead of release.
This is not me just telling a story and slapping Resident Evil on it so I can get a budget.
Zach Cregger, IGN, via NME
What it sounds like
The score is by Hays and Ryan Holladay, who worked with Cregger on Weapons, per NME. The film is light on needle drops, with one sequence set to The Kinks’ “Animal Farm.” NME also notes that a live orchestral tour of the franchise’s music, Resident Evil: Symphony of Legacy, is planned for later this year. Watch the trailer below.
The film is still rolling out. Japan, where the games come from, opens Oct. 9, per Comic Basics.
- Domestic total
- About $125M after 17 days (through Oct. 4)
- Opening (Sept. 18)
- $60M domestic, $108.3M worldwide
- Budget
- $75M, as reported
- Director
- Zach Cregger
