Featured image: Zach Cregger. Photo: Kevin Paul / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
The Lowdown
This is what happens when a director who actually loves the games gets the keys. A $60 million opening, a 96% critics’ score and gamers showing up in force make Cregger one of the few horror filmmakers whose name sells a ticket on its own.
Key Takeaways
- Resident Evil opened at No. 1 for September 18–20 with $60.2 million from 3,684 theaters (Box Office Mojo).
- It’s the best opening for the Resident Evil film franchise and for director Zach Cregger, ahead of Weapons’ $43.5 million (Deadline).
- The film earned a B+ CinemaScore, the franchise’s best, and a 96% certified-fresh Rotten Tomatoes score (Deadline).
- Deadline reported a net production cost of $75 million (Deadline).
The Story
Sony and Constantin’s Resident Evil opened to $60.2 million in North America over September 18–20, taking No. 1 from 3,684 theaters (Box Office Mojo).
Deadline reported that the opening is a record for the franchise and for Zach Cregger, beating his 2025 hit Weapons ($43.5 million). The weekend alone nearly matched the lifetime domestic total of 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, previously the series’ top grosser in North America (Deadline).
Reception was strong. The film earned a 96% certified-fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, the best of Cregger’s career, and a B+ CinemaScore, the franchise’s best grade. Heavy gamers made up 36% of the audience, and 37% said they came for Cregger (Deadline).
It was a good month for Sony, which also has Spider-Man: Brand New Day, now the highest-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office (Deadline). Resident Evil passed $100 million domestically in its second weekend (Box Office Mojo).
Latest News
Related
Join the Conversation
Coming soon.
More Context
- Box Office Mojo — Domestic 2026 Weekend 38 ↗
- Deadline — ‘Resident Evil’ Scores $60M U.S. Opening: Best Ever For Zach Cregger & Franchise ↗