Sony’s new Resident Evil didn’t just win the weekend—it reset the ceiling for a 24-year-old film franchise. Director Zach Cregger’s reboot opened to $60 million in North America and added $48.3 million internationally for a $108.3 million global start.
The number, in context
Heading into the frame, domestic tracking pointed to $40 million to $50 million. The final result landed well above that range and far ahead of the series’ previous biggest opening: 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife at $26 million, not adjusted for inflation. The last attempt to restart the property, 2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, opened to just $5.3 million.
- Resident Evil (2026): $60.0M domestic debut
- Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010): $26.0M
- Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021): $5.3M
Sony spent a reported $75 million to produce the film. The global opening already covers a sizable share of that cost, but marketing spend and exhibition splits mean the theatrical profit picture is not settled.
Why the reboot outperformed
Cregger has quickly become one of horror’s more dependable theatrical names. He broke out with 2022’s low-budget Barbarian, then saw Weapons open to $43 million domestically and finish with $270 million globally against a $38 million budget.
That goodwill matters. Rentrak’s Paul Dergarabedian said putting Cregger in charge made “something familiar feel fresh and original again,” and pointed to young moviegoers: “Gen Z has also become such a major driver of the box office, and they obviously love horror movies.”
The new film stars Austin Abrams as a medical courier fighting through a viral outbreak in Raccoon City. It carries a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score and a B+ CinemaScore exit poll—both unusually strong for a horror title, and a sharp contrast to the failed 2021 reboot.
What it signals for the fall
Sony now has a clear example of a legacy IP revival that works when critical reception and director brand align. The opening also strengthens the broader autumn box office, which has been positioned as a bridge between a record summer and the holiday season.
Dergarabedian called the overperformance “huge for the fall box office” and said the calendar is being underestimated between summer and holiday releases.
Further down the chart, Practical Magic 2 dropped 60% to $12 million in second place, with $76.8 million globally against a reported $75 million production budget. Spider-Man: Brand New Day added $6.5 million and has reached $944 million in North America, making it the top domestic release in history ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with $2.45 billion worldwide. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Coyote vs. Acme rounded out the top five.
Among specialty titles, The Weight opened with $2.3 million from 1,504 screens, while John Wilson’s documentary The History of Concrete drew $90,000 from one New York screen—the venue’s second-biggest weekend after Parasite.
Source: Variety
