Resident Evil reboot opens to $60M franchise record
Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot has opened to $60 million in domestic ticket sales, the largest debut in the franchise's 24-year history.
The figure, reported by Sony in studio estimates on Sunday for the weekend to 20 September 2026, covers the United States and Canada, which the industry calls domestic, and remains subject to Monday's actuals Variety. It beats pre-weekend tracking of $40 million to $50 million for the same source.
The start was front-loaded. The film made $8.8 million in previews, according to reports ahead of opening day Variety, then played on 3,684 domestic screens on Friday to rank as the No. 1 new release that day Variety. Sony put the three-day domestic opening at $53 million to $55 million in late-weekend estimates, while rival studios said it could approach $60 million Deadline.
Sony spent $75 million to produce the reboot before marketing costs, as reported by Variety. That is three times the $25 million budget carried by 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which opened to $5.3 million and finished with $42 million worldwide for the same source.
The series began as a 1996 video game and reached cinemas in 2002 with Resident Evil starring Milla Jovovich. Jovovich returned as Alice in five follow-up films in the 2000s and 2010s. The new film is the eighth overall instalment. Its $60 million debut more than doubles the previous series best, the $26 million opening of 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife before adjusting for inflation. Afterlife remains the highest-grossing entry with $300 million globally.
Cregger directed the reboot and co-wrote it, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. He broke out with 2022's low-budget Barbarian, then opened Weapons to $43 million domestic. Weapons closed with $270 million globally against a $38 million budget, and Amy Madigan won an Oscar for starring in it. The new Resident Evil stars Austin Abrams as a medical courier fighting through a viral outbreak in Raccoon City. It holds a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the review-aggregation site, and a B+ grade in CinemaScore exit polls, which survey opening-weekend audiences.
The reboot bowed in the post-Labor Day frame opposite Practical Magic 2 The Hollywood Reporter. The Warner Bros. release earned an estimated $11 million from 4,163 theatres in its second weekend and has reached $49 million in North America to date Deadline.
Further down the chart, Spider-Man: Brand New Day added $6.5 million in its eighth weekend. It has earned $944 million in North America and $2.45 billion globally. The Odyssey took $4.9 million in its 10th weekend, lifting it to $609 million in North America and $1.7 billion globally.
What makes this stand out is the scale of the jump. A series that had never opened above $26 million has tripled its production budget on the bet that a new director and a clean restart could bring back both gamers and horror crowds.
