Resident Evil Movie Opens to Record $9M+ Thursday Previews

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil movie officially opened on September 18, but its Thursday night previews already set a franchise record — pulling in $9 million or more in the US, according to Deadline's distribution sources. Weekend projections now sit between $40 and $50 million, with analysts suggesting the strong Thursday showing could push that figure even higher.

For context, the previous Thursday preview record for the series was just $1 million, set by Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in 2016 — no other entry in the franchise had matched even that. Cregger's last film, Weapons, made $5.75 million in Thursday previews before finishing its opening weekend at $43.5 million, so the new Resident Evil is already tracking well ahead of that benchmark. The film carries a production budget of $75 million, not counting marketing spend, and those Thursday figures come from distribution sources rather than official studio numbers.

Cregger is best known for Barbarian, the 2022 horror film that became a sleeper hit and cemented his reputation as one of the sharper voices in modern horror. This Resident Evil reboot takes a clean-slate approach — no characters or storylines from the games — which Cregger has acknowledged caught him off guard in terms of how strongly hardcore fans pushed back. Critics, however, have responded warmly: the film currently holds the distinction of being the highest-rated video game adaptation ever made, with GameSpot awarding it an 8/10.

Cregger has floated ideas for sequels but has also said he's done with franchise filmmaking — a tension that leaves the series' future genuinely unclear. Whether the strong opening weekend translates into a greenlit follow-up will likely depend on how the film legs out over the coming weeks.