Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Is Tracking to Shatter Records Before Tickets Even Go on Sale

Zach Cregger has spent the past few years quietly becoming one of horror’s most bankable names, turning original, unsettling stories into genuine box office phenomena. From the slow-burn dread of ‘Barbarian’ to last year’s Oscar-nominated breakout ‘Weapons,’ which pulled in $270 million globally off a $43.5 million domestic opening, Cregger has built exactly the kind of directorial brand that studios dream of attaching to an established franchise.

That brand is now being put to a serious test. Cregger’s reimagining of ‘Resident Evil‘ hits theaters September 18, marking his first venture into adapting existing intellectual property after a run of acclaimed original projects. The film follows Bryan, a medical courier played by ‘Weapons’ alumnus Austin Abrams, who finds himself trapped in a nightmare scenario after a delivery goes horribly wrong.

With tickets set to go on sale next week, early tracking numbers suggest Cregger’s gamble is paying off in a major way. According to new data from The Quorum’s eight-week tracking chart, published by Puck, ‘Resident Evil’ is registering 51% awareness and 52% interest, the highest scores of any film currently on the board, roughly six weeks out from release.

Those numbers carry serious weight in industry terms. The Quorum’s own analysis reportedly frames the results as a sign that Cregger may be emerging as the next true “butts-in-seats” filmmaker, with the reboot posting new highs across every tracking metric specifically among men under 35. For context, that 52% interest figure reportedly surpasses where Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ stood eleven days before its own release, a film that went on to open to $120.5 million domestically.

Cregger has been consistent about his creative approach to the material throughout the film’s promotional rollout. He’s described the movie as a “relentless” horror gauntlet, and has been firm that the story exists outside the events of the video games rather than retelling any specific installment. Speaking previously about his approach, Cregger said he considers himself “the biggest worshiper of the games,” while insisting he’s telling an original story that still respects the source material’s established lore rather than adapting a character arc fans already know from playing the games themselves.

That distinction matters given the franchise’s uneven cinematic track record. The original 2002 ‘Resident Evil’ film starring Milla Jovovich holds just a 35% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes despite a considerably warmer 67% audience score, while the more recent ‘Welcome to Raccoon City’ reboot fared similarly with critics. Cregger’s version appears positioned to break from that pattern entirely, leaning into his signature blend of intimate character work and genuine dread rather than the action-heavy tone that defined the Jovovich-led era.

Sony currently holds two of the hottest titles on the entire tracking chart, with ‘Resident Evil’ at the top and the studio’s own ‘Insidious: Out of the Further’ sitting in second place at 47% awareness and 48% interest. That gives the studio a rare one-two horror punch heading into the fall season, with both releases significantly outperforming other films on the board, including family sequel ‘Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie,’ despite that film having a considerably longer head start on the release calendar.

Separate box office forecasting from Box Office Pro has ‘Resident Evil’ tracking toward a $30 million to $40 million opening weekend, numbers that would represent a genuinely strong relaunch for a franchise that had struggled to find consistent critical or commercial footing in recent years. With tracking numbers this strong before tickets have even officially gone on sale, Cregger’s reboot looks positioned to become one of the biggest horror openings of the year.

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