'Resident Evil' Box Office Tracking Points Toward a Franchise-Record International Debut

Zach Cregger has quickly become one of the most bankable names in modern horror, turning both ‘Barbarian’ and his Oscar-winning hit ‘Weapons’ into genuine box office phenomena built on word-of-mouth momentum rather than franchise recognition. His latest project marks his first time tackling established source material, and the stakes couldn’t be higher given the series’ historically uneven track record overseas.

That project is ‘Resident Evil,‘ Cregger’s reimagining of the long-running Capcom video game franchise, and it’s now beginning its staggered international rollout ahead of its wide domestic release this weekend. According to Deadline’s latest box office preview, the film is tracking for a global opening weekend around $80 million, with Sony’s international markets expected to contribute roughly $23 million to $24 million of that total.

Early tracking data shared by industry analysts suggests the film’s performance in its first overseas markets has been especially encouraging. According to figures circulating from box office tracker Box Office Forecast, ‘Resident Evil’ is comparing favorably in Indonesia and France against Cregger’s own ‘Weapons,’ while also outperforming 2021’s franchise entry ‘Resident Evil: The Final Chapter’ in Indonesia specifically, with the tracker projecting a global opening in the range of $90 million.

🚨Box Office Alert🚨#ResidentEvilㅤ, directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons), is officially spreading to Indonesia & France with promising results! Outbreak incoming..☣️

📊 Day-1 box office comparisons:
🆚 Weapons
🇫🇷~100%✅|🇮🇩~275%✅
🆚 Resident Evil: The Final Chapter… pic.twitter.com/LLdS0SX3Zq
— Box Office Forecast 🎬 (@BoxOfficeFcst) September 17, 2026

That kind of early momentum matters given the franchise’s uneven box office history. The original ‘Resident Evil’ film series, starring Milla Jovovich, generated more than $1.2 billion worldwide across seven films, but Sony’s most recent attempt at a reboot, 2021’s ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,’ was both a critical and commercial disappointment, managing just $42 million worldwide against a $25 million budget.

Every original entry in the franchise opened in the $20 million range domestically, unadjusted for inflation, making Cregger’s film a significant departure from that pattern if current tracking holds. Sony has split its international distribution across multiple partners, with Constantin handling German-speaking markets and Metropolitan taking French-speaking territories, across a total offshore footprint of 62 markets.

Part of what’s driving the stronger-than-expected tracking is the film’s critical reception. After 91 reviews, ‘Resident Evil’ currently holds a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it by far the best-reviewed entry in the franchise’s 24-year history. That kind of critical goodwill, paired with Cregger’s own devoted fanbase built through ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons,’ gives the film a dual appeal that’s rare for video game adaptations.

The film reunites Cregger with ‘Weapons’ star Austin Abrams, who plays Bryan, a medical courier pulled into a chaotic viral outbreak in Raccoon City, alongside Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry, and Kali Reis. Reported production costs sit at roughly $75 million, a considerably higher budget than Cregger’s previous features but still modest relative to the box office ceiling analysts are now projecting.

The first trailer for Zach Cregger's ‘RESIDENT EVIL’ has been released.

In theaters on September 18. pic.twitter.com/eeVCAGzy6M
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 30, 2026

‘Resident Evil’ officially opens across roughly 3,000 domestic locations on September 18, with additional international markets continuing to roll out through October. Thailand, the CIS region, and South Africa are set to open the following weekend, while Japan, historically one of the franchise’s strongest markets, follows on October 9. China, which has traditionally performed well for the franchise, will open at a later date still to be determined.

Historically, the franchise’s top-performing markets have included Japan, Germany, Mexico, France, Taiwan, Spain, South Korea, the UK, Italy, Thailand, Brazil, and Australia. With the reboot’s positive early tracking in some of those same territories, Sony appears well-positioned to finally deliver the kind of global consistency this franchise has chased for over two decades.

Domestically, even a more conservative $40 million opening would still represent a record start for the franchise, comfortably surpassing the previous high set by 2010’s ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ at $26.6 million. Combined with the stronger-than-expected early results overseas, this weekend is shaping up as a genuine turning point for a franchise that’s spent decades searching for consistent box office success on a global scale.

With final numbers still to be confirmed once the film’s full international rollout plays out, all signs currently point to Cregger delivering the franchise’s most commercially successful entry yet.