Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil gave the North American box office a strong boost over its first weekend. The Sony Pictures release made $60 million in ticket sales across 3,684 cinemas in the US and Canada, according to Sunday studio estimates.
That marks a record debut for the video game franchise, which has seen seven previous films since 2002, and a personal high for the director behind Weapons and Barbarian. It also surpasses the total domestic runs of almost every prior entry, save for 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which took $60.1 million before inflation.
The film features Austin Abrams (also seen in Weapons) as a medical courier fighting infected creatures in Raccoon City. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive, holding a 95 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
PostTrak exit polls indicated the audience was mostly male (66 per cent) and under 35 (75 per cent), resulting in a B+ CinemaScore. Cregger’s earlier work has consistently defied typical horror box office logic, where earnings often fall heavily following opening weekend. Barbarian made over $46 million on a budget under $5 million, while Weapons took $270 million against $38 million.
"Zach Cregger is a household name in the world of horror," said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak. "There are certain directors who become the star of the movie."
Resident Evil cost a reported $75 million to make, excluding marketing costs. Internationally, it took $48.3 million, lifting its global launch to $108.3 million.
"Zach Cregger plus big franchise equals big bucks," Dergarabedian said. "And he made it feel fresh and new."
According to Rentrak, horror films this year, including successes like Obsession and Backrooms, have taken over $1.1 billion domestically.
Second spot went to Practical Magic 2, which dropped around 59 per cent from a disappointing opening weekend, taking $12.2 million from 4,163 North American locations. Another $7 million from overseas markets raised its global total to $76.8 million.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day finished third with $6.5 million in its eighth weekend, taking its domestic total to $944.5 million. The Odyssey took fourth with $4.9 million in its 10th weekend, while Coyote vs. Acme placed fifth with $4.5 million.
In limited release, John Wilson’s documentary The History of Concrete made $90,000 from a single screen at New York’s IFC Center. The only movie to make more in one weekend there was Parasite, which earned $119,407.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1. Resident Evil, $60 million.
2. Practical Magic 2, $12.2 million.
3. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, $6.5 million.
4. The Odyssey, $4.9 million.
5. Coyote vs. Acme, $4.5 million.
6. Runner, $3.2 million.
7. Daniel and the Fiery Furnace, $3.1 million.
8. Transformers: The Movie (40th anniversary re-release), $3.1 million.
9. The Weight, $2.3 million.
10. Buddy, $1.9 million.
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