RESIDENT EVIL Shatters Franchise Records With a Monster $103.8 Million Opening

Raccoon City is crawling with monsters, and moviegoers apparently couldn’t wait to join them.

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evilhas exploded out of the gate with a massive $103.8 million worldwide opening, including $60 million from North America. That domestic number came in way above projections and gives the reboot the biggest opening weekend in the history of the live-action Resident Evil franchise.

The previous record belonged to 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which opened with $26 million domestically. Cregger’s movie didn’t just edge past it. It more than doubled it.

The $60 million haul also gives Cregger the biggest domestic opening of his career, surpassing 2025’s Weapons. Between Weapons and Resident Evil, Cregger has become one of the biggest names working in horror right now, and audiences clearly recognize his name.

Sony put a reported $75 million into Resident Evil, which marks the eighth live-action movie in the franchise and the studio’s second attempt to reboot the property. Based on this opening, the gamble is paying off.

The movie stars Austin Abrams as a medical courier trying to survive a viral outbreak that unleashes monsters across Raccoon City. Abrams previously worked with Cregger on Weapons, and their latest collaboration has also been met with strong reviews.

That’s a major change of pace for a movie franchise that hasn’t exactly enjoyed consistent critical praise over the years. Positive reviews, strong word of mouth, and an aggressive summer marketing campaign all appear to have helped. Selling the movie as the latest horror flick “from the director of Barbarian and Weapons” certainly didn’t hurt.

It also arrives at a great time for Resident Evil as a whole. Capcom’s game series has been enjoying a strong run thanks to its combination of new installments and remakes. Resident Evil Requiem has been a hit this year, while a remake of Resident Evil Code: Veronica is expected in 2027.

There’s plenty more coming from Cregger as well. He’s currently lined up for the sci-fi horror movie The Flood, while also co-writing a Weapons prequel and the upcoming Siren Head movie.

Another trip to Raccoon City could also be on the table. Cregger has previously said he already has an idea for another Resident Evil movie and would be interested in returning.

Considering the size of this opening, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Sony eager to keep this incarnation of the franchise alive.

Whether Cregger comes back for another round or leaves this as his one big trip through the Resident Evil universe, the reboot has already accomplished something none of its predecessors could.

It opened to $60 million domestically, $103.8 million worldwide, smashed the franchise record, and gave Cregger another major horror hit.

The movie is actually great and offers a super fun horror movie expdrience. Resident Evil finally got a big-screen adaptation that delivers the nasty monster-filled horror fans have been waiting for, and audiences are showing up for it.