Resident Evil leads box office with $108.3M global and $60M domestic debut

Global debut reaches $108.3 million

Zach Cregger's reboot of "Resident Evil" captured first place at the North American box office with $60 million in ticket sales across 3,684 locations during its opening weekend. Produced by TriStar Pictures, Constantin Film, and Davis Films for $75 million, the film added $48.3 million from international territories to reach a worldwide debut of $108.3 million. That total represents the largest opening in the 24-year history of the eight-film franchise, exceeding the $26 million debut of 2010's "Resident Evil: Afterlife." The single weekend gross surpassed the entire global theatrical runs of both the original 2002 film ($102.9 million) and the 2021 reboot "Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City" ($41.9 million). It also marked the highest worldwide launch of Cregger's career, eclipsing the $70 million opening of his 2025 film "Weapons."

Critical reception and audience profile

The production reunites Cregger with actor Austin Abrams, who stars as a medical courier battling infected creatures across Raccoon City to deliver a package to a remote hospital. Reviews were positive across review aggregators, with Rotten Tomatoes scoring the film between 95% and 96%. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the release a B+ grade, while PostTrak exit polling revealed an audience that was 66% male and 75% under the age of 35. The debut extends Cregger's commercial run after "Barbarian" grossed $46.2 million on a $4.5 million budget and "Weapons" generated $270 million globally against a $38 million cost. Paul Dergarabedian, marketplace trends analyst at Rentrak, commented on the commercial drawing power of the filmmaker.

Zach Cregger plus big franchise equals big bucks. And he made it feel fresh and new.

International rollout and foreign markets

The film's $48.3 million foreign launch stands as the top international debut for a horror movie in 2026, tracking 66% ahead of "Weapons" and 18% ahead of "Alien: Romulus" at current exchange rates. The United Kingdom served as the top foreign territory with $5.8 million, followed by Mexico at $5.6 million, France and Australia at $2.6 million each, and Germany at $2.5 million. Additional markets included Spain at $2.3 million, Brazil at $2.0 million, and Italy at $1.7 million. Foreign distributors have released the film in 87% of international markets, with 13% of territories still to come. The remaining rollout includes launches in South Africa on 23 September, Thailand on 24 September, and Japan on 9 October, while a release date in China remains unscheduled.

North American box office rankings

In North American theaters, "Resident Evil" displaced Warner Bros' "Practical Magic 2," which dropped 59% in its second weekend to take second place with $12.2 million from 4,163 screens, bringing its global total to $76.8 million. Third place went to Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which earned $6.5 million in its eighth weekend to reach $944.5 million domestically. "The Odyssey" finished fourth with $4.9 million in its tenth weekend, and Falling Forward Films' "Coyote vs Acme" ranked fifth with $4.5 million. Lower positions in the top ten included "The Runner" at $3.2 million, alongside "Daniel and the Fiery Furnace" and "Transformers: The Movie" at $3.1 million each. Total horror box office receipts in North America for 2026 have now surpassed $1.1 billion.