Zach Cregger has done it again! After delivering Barbarian in 2022 and the Oscar-winning smash that was Weapons last year, the man is back with his latest directorial effort, Resident Evil. Cregger has worked his magic on the franchise, as it shattered records for the franchise at the box office over the weekend.
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Debuting firmly in the number one spot, the Resident Evil reboot opened to an estimated $60 million domestically. Cregger’s latest also took in $48.3 million overseas, giving it a $108.3 million global start. That’s by far the biggest opening weekend for any movie in the franchise. It blew by opening weekend projections, which were closer to the $40/$50 million range. The domestic number is particularly eye-popping, as the previous movies tended to make most of their money internationally.
To that end, the biggest hit in the series in North America previously was 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which made $60.1 million domestically in total, but did nearly $300 million worldwide. Cregger’s movie made that in a single weekend. The games have sold well globally, but the movies never quite broke through in the U.S. Even with a reported $75 million budget, this is going to be a home run for Sony Pictures.
The new movie follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in an action-packed, non-stop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos. Paul Walter Hauser (Balls Up), Kali Reis (Mercy) and Zach Cherry (Fallout) also star. It doesn’t directly adapt any of the games. Rather, it takes place in the universe of the games, existing alongside Resident Evil 2 in terms of the overall timeline.
That decision not to adapt the games, in addition to not including any familiar characters, generated some consternation from fans online. Be that as it may, it seems that the general moviegoing public didn't mind. They just wanted a good movie. They got one.
Cregger’s Resident Evil is armed with great reviews, which should help its legs in the coming weeks. It’s also got a few stray markets left to open in, so those overseas numbers are going to grow in the weeks that follow as well. All of this to say, Cregger has now proved that he can work within pre-established IP as well. He can do it all.
Looking ahead, the next big horror movie doesn’t arrive until Mike P. Nelson’s giant snake creature feature Beware Boiúna on October 2. After that, we’ve got the Jessica Chastain starring vehicle Other Mommy on October 9.
Resident Evil is in theaters now.
