Resident Evil Reboot Bites Off $8.8 Million in Previews

Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot earned $8.8 million in previews ahead of its opening weekend in cinemas.

The Sony horror-comedy reboot opens over the 18-20 September 2026 weekend, and that preview haul is already the best ever for the Resident Evil film series, according to Deadline. The figure was reported by Variety.

The film stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier carrying a mysterious package into a town overrun by zombies. Cregger directs. Sony built the reboot for $75 million, before marketing costs.

Tracking now points to a $40 million to $50 million domestic opening, meaning the United States and Canada. Sony's own forecast sits at $40 million for the three-day weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter. Some projections run closer to $60 million on the back of positive reviews. Globally, the opening weekend is expected to reach $80 million, per Deadline.

That would be new ground. It would be the largest opening yet for Cregger as a director, and the largest opening for any Resident Evil film.

The comparison is stark. Cregger's last film, Weapons, took $5.7 million in previews before opening to $43 million domestically and finishing with $270 million worldwide. The biggest Resident Evil film to date is 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife, which opened to $26 million domestically and finished with $300 million globally.

What makes this stand out is the scale of the jump. Early tracking had the reboot at $35 million domestically. The preview number tripled the early pace of Weapons and reset expectations in a week.

For fans, this means a familiar series is returning at a different level. The six-film franchise has grossed more than $1.2 billion worldwide. A $40 million-plus start would put this reboot well ahead of that pack from day one.