Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Is Turning Sony’s Cursed Franchise Into a Box Office Monster

For 24 years, ‘Resident Evil’ has been one of Hollywood’s strangest success stories. Most of the films in the series received negative reviews from critics, yet the franchise has still grossed more than $1.2B. Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2002 original finished its entire theatrical run with roughly $103M worldwide.

The most recent reboot attempt ended badly. 2021’s ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’ opened to $5.3M and finished with $42M worldwide on a $25M budget. Sony’s latest swing, coming 5 years later, looked like a risk.

It has paid off in a big way. Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ has now grossed over $245M worldwide and is eyeing a $320M to $340M finish. It cost $75M to produce, and the tweet pairs those figures with a still of a man in a mustard-colored beanie.

The numbers tracker The Numbers lists the film at $245.4M, with roughly $125M domestic and $120.5M from international markets. That is about 3.3 times its production budget. Koimoi reported earlier that the film had already crossed its estimated $187.5M break-even point.

The projected finish matters because of what it would beat. The highest-grossing ‘Resident Evil’ movie to date is ‘The Final Chapter’ at $312.2M worldwide, made on a $40M budget. If Cregger’s film lands in the $320M to $340M range, it would set a new franchise record.

It has been setting records from the start. The film opened on September 18 to $60M domestically and $108.3M worldwide, both franchise bests. That was well above the $40M to $50M tracking range.

It kept going from there. The film held with a $23M second weekend, a drop of 61.7%, and became the first ‘Resident Evil’ movie to cross $100M domestically. It reached $200M worldwide after 2 weeks, the fastest in franchise history.

The reviews have been a big part of it. The film holds a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ CinemaScore. It is the highest-rated film based on a video game on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

Cregger co-wrote the script with Shay Hatten and brought along Austin Abrams, who starred in his earlier hit ‘Weapons’. Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier fighting through a viral outbreak in Raccoon City. Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser round out the cast.

Critics have singled out Abrams in particular. Empire called the film the best ‘Resident Evil’ movie yet, while The Film Maven praised its lean, scary and funny take on the game’s formula. Both noted flaws, including a second act that leans too far into comedy and a clunky third act.

Cregger had built plenty of goodwill with ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons’. ‘Weapons’ opened to just over $42M in August 2025 and went on to $270M worldwide on a $38M budget. ‘Resident Evil’ is his biggest opening yet.

The first trailer for Zach Cregger’s ‘RESIDENT EVIL’ has been released. In theaters on September 18. https://t.co/eeVCAGzy6M

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 30, 2026

There may be more to come. As of its second weekend, ‘Resident Evil’ had not yet opened in China or Japan, 2 historically huge markets. One analyst noted that the film was already approaching $200M worldwide without either territory contributing anything.

That is why the $320M to $340M projection looks realistic. Domestically the film is also the highest-grossing ‘Resident Evil’ movie in North America.

For a franchise long dismissed as a punchline, this is a remarkable turnaround.

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