Resident Evil tops box office after a powerful opening weekend, delivering $60 million in ticket sales across 3,684 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
The Sony Pictures horror entry set a new benchmark for the video game franchise, which has seven earlier films dating to 2002, and marked a career best opening for filmmaker Zach Cregger, known for Weapons and Barbarian. The debut surpasses the full domestic runs of most prior installments. The only close rival is 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which finished with $60.1 million, not adjusted for inflation.
Cregger’s Resident Evil features Austin Abrams, who also appeared in Weapons, as a medical courier whose final stop plunges him into a fight for survival against infected creatures in Raccoon City. Reviews have been strongly favorable, with the film holding a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
PostTrak exit polling showed the audience skewed male at 66% and under 35 at 75%, and moviegoers awarded it a B+ CinemaScore. Cregger’s recent track record has bucked typical horror patterns, which often front-load earnings before steep declines. Barbarian earned more than $46 million on a budget under $5 million, while Weapons reached $270 million on a $38 million budget.
“Zach Cregger is a household name in the world of horror,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s senior analyst, who added that some directors become the marquee draw for audiences.
The new Resident Evil carried a reported $75 million production budget, excluding marketing. Overseas, it collected $48.3 million, lifting its worldwide launch to $108.3 million. “Zach Cregger plus big franchise equals big bucks,” Dergarabedian said. “And he made it feel fresh and new.”
Rentrak reports that horror titles this year, including breakout hits like Obsession and Backrooms, have combined for more than $1.1 billion at the domestic box office, underscoring the genre’s momentum with theatergoers from Hawaiʻi to the mainland.
Resident Evil tops box office as rivals trail
Practical Magic 2 placed second with $12.2 million, a drop of about 59% from its soft first frame, across 4,163 North American locations. It added $7 million from overseas markets for a global total of $76.8 million.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day took third with $6.5 million in its eighth weekend, pushing domestic grosses to $944.5 million. The Odyssey, now in its 10th weekend, earned $4.9 million for fourth place, and Coyote vs. Acme rounded out the top five with $4.5 million.
In limited release, The History of Concrete, a documentary by comedian John Wilson, made $90,000 from a single screen at New York’s IFC Center, a figure topped there only by Parasite’s $119,407 single-weekend haul.
Weekend top 10 (estimates)
- Resident Evil, $60 million
- Practical Magic 2, $12.2 million
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day, $6.5 million
- The Odyssey, $4.9 million
- Coyote vs. Acme, $4.5 million
- Runner, $3.2 million
- Daniel and the Fiery Furnace, $3.1 million
- Transformers: The Movie (40th anniversary re-release), $3.1 million
- The Weight, $2.3 million
- Buddy, $1.9 million
Final domestic figures will be reported Monday, according to Rentrak.
For readers looking to test their knowledge of movies and pop culture beyond the weekend numbers, try The Trade Wind’s American Culture Quiz: Gridiron grazing and film lore.
