TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sony Pictures’ decision to hand the keys of its flagship horror franchise to director Zach Cregger has paid off handsomely. Over its opening weekend, the new Resident Evil reboot collected an estimated US$60 million at the North American box office, handily surpassing pre-release tracking of US$40 million to US$50 million and delivering the highest domestic opening in the property’s 24-year history.
According to box office tracking data compiled by Variety, the film added US$48.3 million across initial international markets, led by strong debuts in the United Kingdom (US$5.8 million) and Mexico (US$5.6 million), bringing its global launch total to US$108.3 million against a US$75 million production budget.
The performance marks a dramatic turnaround for the franchise. The previous opening record belonged to 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which debuted to US$26 million before completing its domestic run at US$60.1 million—a lifetime figure the new installment effectively matched in just three days. Furthermore, the reboot’s global launch has already surpassed the entire US$103.8 million worldwide theatrical run of the original 2002 film.
The result also serves as a total recovery from the series’ last entry, 2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which stumbled during its pandemic-era debut with US$5.3 million domestically and finished its run with just US$41.9 million worldwide.
"This is a big comeback after the previous episode stumbled during the pandemic," said David A. Gross, publisher of the box office newsletter FranchiseRe, in an interview with Variety. "Reviews are outstanding and the audience score is excellent for the genre."
A New Creative Direction
Unlike earlier cinematic adaptations starring Milla Jovovich as Alice, Zach Cregger’s film focuses on an original narrative anchored in the setting of the video games rather than relying on established legacy characters. Starring Austin Abrams, who previously worked with Cregger on his 2025 breakout hit Weapons, the story follows a medical courier navigating a catastrophic viral outbreak in Raccoon City.
As noted by Boxoffice Pro, steering clear of core game protagonists provided general audiences with an accessible entry point while delivering an atmosphere viscerally familiar to gamers.
Cregger’s involvement proved to be a decisive factor in attracting filmgoers. After making his mark with the 2022 low-budget hit Barbarian, the director cemented his reputation with Weapons, which earned US$270 million globally on a US$38 million budget and garnered an Oscar for co-star Amy Madigan.
Industry analysts credit Cregger's rising profile, alongside strong word-of-mouth, for driving the weekend's turnout.
"Putting Zach Cregger in charge of a major franchise like Resident Evil made something familiar feel fresh and original again," Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak, told Variety. "Gen Z has also become such a major driver of the box office, and they obviously love horror movies."
Critical response has diverged sharply from earlier entries in the series, which historically hovered between 18 and 39 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The reboot achieved a 95 percent critical rating and a 91 percent audience score on the aggregator platform, alongside a 4.5 out of 5 rating on PostTrak and a "B+" grade on CinemaScore, which is a strong mark for an R-rated horror title.
Reporting from Boxoffice Pro shows the film’s domestic momentum built steadily throughout the weekend, beginning with US$8.8 million from Thursday previews, leading into a US$26.55 million Friday, US$20.25 million on Saturday, and US$13.2 million on Sunday across 3,684 screens.
Weekend Box Office Summary
Resident Evil led an overall domestic weekend gross of US$110.6 million, representing a 28.8 percent increase over the previous week, according to Box Office Pro.
Practical Magic 2 (Warner Bros.): Dropped to second place with US$12 million (down 60 percent) in its second weekend. The US$75 million sequel starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock has earned US$49 million domestically and US$76.8 million worldwide.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Sony): Placed third with US$6.5 million in its eighth weekend. The film stands at US$944 million domestically, recently surpassing 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing domestic release in history, and US$2.45 billion globally.
The Odyssey (Universal): Finished fourth with US$4.9 million in its 10th weekend, bringing its totals to US$609 million in North America and US$1.72 billion worldwide.
Coyote vs. Acme (Ketchup Entertainment): Rounded out the top five with US$4.3 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to US$54.6 million after being acquired from Warner Bros.
In specialty releases, Vertical's historical drama The Weight, starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, debuted in ninth place with US$2.3 million from 1,504 screens. Meanwhile, Magnolia Pictures' documentary The History of Concrete brought in US$90,000 from a single screen at New York's IFC Center, averaging US$90,000 per screen in its opening weekend.
With upcoming releases including Heart of the Beast, Forgotten Island, and Primetime, industry analysts expect the strong performance of Resident Evil to sustain box office momentum into the fall season.
Read: 'Practical Magic 2' Ends 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Box Office Reign
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
