Resident Evil tops the weekend box office with a monster opening that went well beyond expectations. According to Variety, the new Resident Evil opened with an estimated $60 million in North America, giving Sony another major box office win.
That makes it the biggest opening weekend the franchise has ever had. And $60 million wasn’t where the forecasts had it.
Heading into the weekend, estimates were closer to $40 million to $50 million. Moviegoers had other ideas. Add another $48.3 million from international markets and the Resident Evil box office total has already reached $108.3 million worldwide.
For a series that first arrived in theaters back in 2002, that’s one heck of a return. So, what happened with everything else?
1. Resident Evil tops the box office with $60 million
Let’s start with the obvious. This was a big weekend for Zach Cregger.
A few years ago, Barbarian made people pay attention to him. Then Weapons became a much larger hit. Now he’s stepped into a franchise that’s been around for decades and delivered its biggest opening.
Not by a little, either.
The Resident Evil $60 million debut more than doubled the previous opening record. That belonged to Resident Evil: Afterlife, which opened to approximately $26 million in 2010.
Austin Abrams leads the new movie as a medical courier who finds himself trying to survive the nightmare unfolding in Raccoon City. He previously worked with Cregger on Weapons.
Sony reportedly spent about $75 million on Resident Evil. With more than $108 million already sold in tickets around the world, the studio couldn’t have asked for a much better first weekend.
The Resident Evil franchise record is now considerably higher. The next question is pretty simple: How big can this thing get?
2. Practical Magic 2 settles for second at the weekend box office
The witches had to give up the top spot. After opening at No. 1 last weekend, Practical Magic 2 fell to second place with approximately $12 million. That brings its domestic total to about $49 million.
The drop was a fairly steep 60%, so the next couple of weekends will be worth watching.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman returning together was always going to get longtime fans interested. The sequel has now earned approximately $76.8 million worldwide.
Not disastrous, but considering the reported $75 million production cost, Warner Bros. would certainly like to see it hang around.
3. Spider-Man: Brand New Day just keeps going
Remember when eight weekends at the box office sounded like a long time? Apparently nobody told Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned another $6.5 million and remains in third place after two months in theaters. Its domestic total now stands at approximately $944 million.
Globally, the Tom Holland movie has reached an enormous $2.45 billion.
At this stage, every additional weekend feels like another victory lap. It also gives the Sony box office another reason to celebrate while Resident Evil enjoys its huge debut.
4. The Odyssey remains in the weekend box office Top 5
And right behind Spider-Man is another movie that refuses to disappear.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey added $4.9 million in its tenth weekend. Ten. The movie has now earned approximately $609 million domestically and $1.72 billion worldwide.
Plenty of new releases have come and gone since The Odyssey arrived. It’s still here.
That probably says enough.
5. Coyote vs. Acme keeps proving a point
Coyote vs. Acme rounds out the weekend with another $4.3 million. Its domestic total is now approximately $54.6 million, which feels especially satisfying considering the movie’s strange journey to theaters.
Warner Bros. once planned to shelve the completed film. Ketchup Entertainment eventually picked it up and gave it a theatrical release instead.
Four weekends later, it’s still in the Top 5.
Wile E. Coyote finally caught something.
Resident Evil franchise record gives Sony another win
There was some concern that the period between summer and the holiday season might be quiet at the box office. Resident Evil just made that argument a little harder to make.
With Resident Evil tops among this weekend’s releases, the $60 million opening is good news for theaters, the franchise and Sony. The studio also still has Spider-Man: Brand New Day sitting in the Top 5 after eight weekends.
The Resident Evil box office performance also gives the fall season some early momentum. Whether the movie can hold onto first place is the next thing to watch.
Brad Pitt’s Heart of the Beast arrives next weekend, which should make the top of the weekend box office a lot more interesting.
Will the new thriller knock Resident Evil out of first place, or will the zombies continue to reign?
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