Cregger's Reboot Rewrites Franchise History
Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot has stormed into theaters with the kind of opening the franchise has never seen. The Sony Pictures release grossed $26.3 million on its first day across 3,684 North American screens, including $8.8 million from Thursday-night previews, putting it on course for a three-day domestic debut in the $53 million to $55 million range — with some estimates reaching as high as $60 million [1][2]. That would comfortably eclipse the previous franchise record held by Resident Evil: Afterlife, which opened to just $26 million over its entire debut weekend in 2010 [2].
The result lands well above Sony's own pre-release expectations. The studio had initially projected a $40 million launch; the film is now tracking to beat that figure by as much as $20 million [1]. Audiences gave it a B+ CinemaScore, while critics have been even more enthusiastic [1].
A Franchise Finally Wins Over Critics
What makes this opening especially striking is that Resident Evil has historically been critic-proof rather than critic-approved. The original Paul W.S. Anderson series, which ran from 2002 through six films starring Milla Jovovich, accumulated more than $1.2 billion worldwide on the strength of audience appetite alone [1]. A 2021 reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, underperformed and failed to launch a new cycle [1].
Cregger's version breaks that pattern decisively. The film holds a 96 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 92 percent audience score, making it both the franchise's first critically acclaimed entry and the year's top-reviewed horror release [1]. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Frank Scheck wrote that Cregger "crafted a propulsive, simultaneously terrifying and hilarious thrill ride that showcases both his cinematic chops and perverse sense of humor" [1]. Variety's Owen Gleiberman, who dismissed the prior films as "hyperviolent, hyperkinetic video-game zombie sludge," called Cregger's take "a sweetly executed piece of escapist trivia" with "a quirky relatability" [2].
The Story and the Cast
The reboot is co-written by Cregger and Shay Hatten and takes a deliberately fresh approach to the source material [2]. Rather than adapting established characters from Capcom's video game universe — a choice that initially concerned some die-hard fans — the film centers on an original protagonist: a medical courier played by Austin Abrams who must navigate a deadly viral outbreak while attempting to complete a delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital [1][2]. The ensemble also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser [1].
The film carries a $75 million production budget and hails from TriStar Pictures, Constantin Film, and Davis Film [1].
Cregger's Accelerating Trajectory
The opening cements Cregger's status as one of Hollywood's most commercially potent horror directors. His 2022 film Barbarian announced him as a major genre voice; his follow-up, Weapons, opened to $43.5 million in August 2025 and went on to gross $270 million globally, also earning Oscar recognition [1][2]. Resident Evil now surpasses Weapons as his biggest debut ever [1].
The director's willingness to depart from the game canon — building an original story within the Resident Evil world rather than faithfully adapting its mythology — appears to have paid off both commercially and critically.
The Rest of the Weekend
Second place belongs to Practical Magic 2, the Warner Bros. sequel starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, which is expected to earn around $10.4 million in its sophomore frame, bringing its domestic cumulative total to roughly $48.2 million [1][2]. That figure already surpasses the original 1998 film's $46.7 million North American run, though the sequel is facing a steep weekend-over-weekend decline of approximately 65 percent [1].
Sony's Spider-Man: Brand New Day holds third place with an estimated $6.3 million in its eighth weekend, pushing its domestic total to approximately $944.3 million [1][2]. Whether the Tom Holland-led Marvel blockbuster can become the first film to cross $1 billion domestically remains an open question [1].
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey continues its extraordinary run in fourth place, adding an estimated $5 million to bring its domestic total to $609.8 million — making it Universal's highest-grossing film ever [1][2].
Rounding out the top five is Coyote vs. Acme, the Looney Tunes feature that was famously rescued from becoming a Warner Bros. Discovery tax write-off. The Ketchup Entertainment release is expected to earn $4.2 million in its fourth weekend, lifting its North American total to roughly $54.5 million [1].
Further down the chart, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, the Aardman stop-motion sequel distributed by GKIDS, is projected to earn $1.4 million from 2,173 locations in its opening frame [1][2]. And The Weight, a historical thriller from Vertical starring Ethan Hawke as a veteran hired to smuggle gold across 100 miles of wilderness — with Russell Crowe also starring — debuted to approximately $1.17 million on Friday across 1,504 theaters, with a projected $2.3 million opening weekend [2]. It marks the feature debut of director Padraic McKinley [2].
What to Watch Next
The immediate question is whether Resident Evil's strong word-of-mouth — reflected in that 92 percent audience score — can sustain the film through the coming weeks and push it toward a $200 million-plus domestic run. Longer term, Sony and its partners will be watching international markets closely; the original Anderson series derived much of its $1.2 billion lifetime gross from overseas audiences [1]. A sequel greenlight seems likely if the global trajectory holds. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day's march toward the domestic billion-dollar threshold will be the other major story of the fall box office season [1].
