Even though it’s been overshadowed by other movies at the box office in recent weeks, Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil just passed a major milestone. A milestone that only a handful of other horror movies have ever reached, I might add. With the most recent weekend’s haul, Cregger’s latest has joined the $400 million club.
See also: An Underrated RESIDENT EVIL Game Is Finally Getting A Remake
To date, the latest cinematic take on Capcom’s beloved video game series has earned $157.4 million domestically to go with $242.6 million internationally for a $400 million global running total. Resident Evil was a bloody big box office hit from the jump but it also carries a production budget north of $80 million, meaning it had to hang around in order to become a theatrical hit. Safe to say, it was money well spent for Sony Pictures and Constantine Film.
The new movie centers on a medical courier named Bryan (Austin Abrams) who unwittingly finds himself in a non-stop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos in Raccoon City. Paul Walter Hauser (Balls Up), Kali Reis (Mercy) and Zach Cherry (Fallout) also star.
A sequel is all but assured at this point. Whether or not Cregger wants to return to the director's chair is the big question. He's a busy man with other projcets on his to-do pile. We'll see how that shakes out.
Historically speaking, Cregger’s Resident Evil is just the 14th horror movie in history to ever make at least $400 million at the global box office, unadjusted for inflation. The highest-grossing horror movie remains Stephen King’s It with $719.7 million, followed by The Sixth Sense at $672.8 million. I Am Legend ($585.5 million) and World War Z ($540 million) are also near the top of the list, without getting into debates about what does or does not count as a horror movie anyway.
What’s really interesting is that this year alone has seen three different horror movies hit this very high mark. Curry Barker’s Obsession hit $400 million back in July and ultimately surpassed $500 million, while Kane Parsons’ Backrooms edged its way past $400 million as well. Typically, there have been pretty long gaps between genre hits of this size. Inflation certainly has a part to play in that, but there’s no denying that horror has been having a real moment in the mainstream as of late.
In short, it’s been one heck of a year for horror. Looking ahead, we’ve got a big one coming our way this weekend with the R-rated, much-anticipated Godzilla Minus Zero. November 13 brings with it Ebeneezer and Victorian Psycho.
Resident Evil is in theaters now.
