Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Is Tracking Toward a Historic Global Opening

Video game adaptations have had a rocky reputation in Hollywood for decades, often struggling to translate beloved source material into box office success without alienating either casual moviegoers or diehard fans. Zach Cregger’s reimagining of one of gaming’s most iconic survival horror franchises was always going to face that same uphill battle, especially with a filmmaker choosing to move away from familiar faces and shot-for-shot nostalgia.

That risk appears to be paying off in a major way as release day approaches. What started as cautious optimism around Cregger’s post-‘Weapons’ momentum has snowballed into genuine industry buzz, with tracking numbers suggesting the film could become one of the biggest horror openings in recent memory.

‘Resident Evil’ is now tracking to become Hollywood’s first $100 million-plus global opener since ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’. Of that anticipated haul, between $35 million and $50 million is expected to come from the U.S. market alone.

That domestic projection already represents a massive leap for the franchise. The film hit tracking with an eye toward a $35 million domestic start, a number that would comfortably beat ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’s’ previous franchise record of $26.7 million set back in 2010. Deadline also noted that strong early first-day sales reports could push that projection even higher, potentially as high as $50 million.

International enthusiasm for the film has grown significant enough that Sony has expanded its global promotional push in response. Cregger and star Austin Abrams are set to travel to Brazil this week to kick off the film’s international press tour ahead of its September 17 release there, a notable move for a horror title not usually associated with this level of overseas promotional investment.

That Brazil stop has been confirmed independently as well. Cregger and Abrams will appear in São Paulo specifically to promote the film in person, rather than relying solely on prerecorded video promotion, underscoring just how seriously the studio is treating the international rollout.

Much of the excitement stems from Cregger’s rapidly growing reputation as a bankable horror filmmaker. His film ‘Weapons’ pulled in $270 million globally off a $43.5 million domestic opening, and early audience interest metrics for ‘Resident Evil’ have reportedly surpassed where Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ stood at a comparable point before its own release, a film that went on to open domestically at $120.5 million.

The film stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier who finds himself caught in the middle of a viral outbreak while attempting to make a delivery to Raccoon City. Cregger has been consistent throughout the promotional cycle in describing the film as an original story that runs parallel to the events of the games rather than adapting any specific installment directly.

With a reported $80 million production budget, a $100 million-plus global opening would represent an enormous return on investment right out of the gate, and would mark one of the most successful video game adaptations in recent memory regardless of how the film’s back-half box office run ultimately unfolds.

As anticipation builds heading into release weekend, all eyes are now on whether ‘Resident Evil’ can actually deliver on tracking that has already outpaced some of the year’s biggest blockbusters.

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