Resident Evil movie smashes series box office records with $108m global opening

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil opened to a massive $108.3 million globally in its first weekend — $60 million in the US and $48.3 million internationally. That's the best opening weekend in the franchise's history and already more than the entire lifetime gross of the first Milla Jovovich Resident Evil film from 2002, which made $102.9 million total.

The film's Thursday preview night alone pulled in $9 million or more in the US, obliterating the previous series record of $1 million set by 2016's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Those Thursday numbers come from Deadline's distribution sources rather than official studio figures. The opening weekend result also beats Cregger's previous film Weapons, which earned $43.5 million domestically after $5.75 million in previews. Globally, Weapons made $70 million — well below Resident Evil's debut. The film's production budget was $75 million, not counting marketing. It's currently the second-best horror opening of the year, behind Backrooms at $118 million.

Cregger took a deliberately unconventional approach to the material, ditching franchise staples like Leon S. Kennedy and the Redfields in favor of a comedic, grounded story following Bryan — played by Austin Abrams — a medical delivery driver having a catastrophically bad day. Cregger has acknowledged he underestimated how strongly hardcore game fans would push back on that direction. Critics, however, have been enthusiastic: GameSpot gave it 8/10, and it's currently rated the highest-reviewed video game adaptation ever made. The Resident Evil game series itself remains active, with Capcom developing Resident Evil Veronica — a remake of Code: Veronica — due out next year.

Cregger has floated ideas for sequels but has also said he's wary of committing to franchise filmmaking long-term. Whether the box office success changes that calculus remains to be seen, but a $108 million global debut makes a follow-up conversation inevitable.