After two enormous genre hits, the world held its breath to see what filmmaker Zach Cregger could do for the flagging Resident Evil franchise.
The Weapons creator has worked his magic once more, with his 2026 stand-alone Resident Evil film scoring the film series’ highest grossing opening weekend to date.
Domestically, Resident Evil was projected to debut to an optimistic $40-50 million. However, the demand for tickets surprised all involved, and Cregger’s film would ultimately overperform, bringing in $60.1 million.
The movie also won big internationally, taking in an additional 48.3 million. Altogether, this brings Resident Evil’s total opening weekend gross to an impressive $108.3 million.
Critically, the movie saw similar success, with Resident Evil scoring an impressive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Again, this is another franchise record for Resident Evil, besting any previous video game or film instalment.
Cregger’s film received particular praise for the lead performance by actor Austin Abrams, and the movie’s tight runtime and pacing.
With a budget of $75 million, Resident Evil is yet to turn a profit, but the film is projected to hold well in the coming weeks.
No word yet on if the movie’s record-breaking debut has spurred sequel talk, but it seems a likely next step.
However, given Cregger’s packed schedule, whether he can return to the helm remains to be seen.
We’ll bring you any further Resident Evil updates as soon as we can, so stay tuned.
