Resident Evil holds No. 1 in China as holiday rush fades

Resident Evil stayed top of the box office in mainland China for the Oct. 9-11 weekend with RMB81.2 million ($12.1 million), according to Artisan Gateway data via Variety. It was a quieter weekend across the country. The holidays are over.

The horror reboot from Constantin Film and Sony Pictures opened in China on Oct. 5. It had reached a cumulative $40.7 million in the market by the end of the Oct. 9-11 frame, according to the same data. The film is directed by Zach Cregger and arrived in China after a strong start in the United States and Australia.

Traces of Justice took second place in mainland China with $8.3 million in its sophomore session, meaning its second weekend on release. The film opened on Oct. 1 and had totalled $73.4 million by the end of the Oct. 9-11 weekend. Mr. & Mrs. Pardon followed in third with $5.7 million for the weekend, lifting its cumulative gross to $43.6 million.

Go for Broke 2 placed fourth with $1 million in its second weekend. It has earned $7.9 million since its Oct. 3 launch. Once Upon a Time in the Middle East came fifth with $800,000 in its ninth weekend, taking its total to $353 million since opening on Aug. 11. That film is China's entry for the Oscars' international feature category.

Overall takings in mainland China were $30.8 million for the Oct. 9-11 weekend as traffic normalised after the National Day holiday rush. Year-to-date revenue stands at $4.63 billion, trailing the same period in 2025 by 29.4%, according to Artisan Gateway.

What makes this run stand out is how long Resident Evil has kept going. It opened in the United States with a franchise-best $60 million debut, as reported by WECT, then returned to No. 1 at the global weekend box office in its fourth weekend after its China release, according to Yahoo. For general audiences, that means one horror title is still driving ticket sales in several markets at once.