Sony/Columbia’s Resident Evil is turning strong reviews into ticket sales. The video game adaptation collected $8.8 million from Thursday preview screenings, pushing opening weekend projections from roughly $40 million-plus earlier in the week to north of $60 million.
The film arrives with a 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 90% audience score. PostTrak audiences gave it 4.5 out of 5.
Previews reset the weekend math
Before the review burst, tracking had Zach Cregger’s take on the Capcom series landing near the $43.5 million opening of his 2025 film Weapons. The preview number changes that picture. If the film reaches $60 million, the $8.8 million in previews would represent about 15% of the weekend total, a reasonable share for a fan-driven horror property with strong advance word.
A $60 million-plus start would clear the franchise’s previous opening benchmark: Resident Evil: Afterlife, the Milla Jovovich entry, opened to $26.6 million. TheWrap notes the new film would beat that figure even after inflation adjustment.
The box office context
- Thursday previews: $8.8 million
- Critics/audience sentiment: 96% critic score, 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; 4.5/5 PostTrak
- Current opening projection: $60 million-plus
- Franchise record to beat: $26.6 million from Resident Evil: Afterlife
The result still trails last year’s horror high-water mark: The Conjuring: Last Rites opened to $84 million. But it gives the theatrical market fresh momentum before a crowded corridor that includes Avengers: Endgame Encore, Forgotten Island and Primetime.
What it means for buyers
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the takeaway is that critic aggregation can still move a presale curve. The acceleration after Wednesday’s 96% Rotten Tomatoes score shows why advance tracking should be re-read after critical mass hits. The stronger preview result also widens the weekend’s marketing window for co-promotions tied to a hit rather than a modest opener.
The planning playbook mirrors earlier fan-driven openings: index spend toward opening weekend, capture earned sentiment from critic scores, and watch PostTrak in real time to adjust next-week holdover inventory. A $60 million-plus opening also makes the title a stronger anchor for premium formats and later licensing conversations.
Sony is also compounding momentum. The studio is coming off Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has reached $2.45 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing domestic release before inflation adjustment. That film’s $937 million-plus domestic run is a major reason the 2026 domestic box office is on track to cross $7.5 billion this weekend.
Source: TheWrap
