Resident Evil broke franchise box office records with highest opening weekend - and earned more than the first movie in its entire run
The people yearn for stories about a down-on-his-luck medical courier fighting his way through an impending zombie apocalypse
Resident Evil is a certified critical and commercial hit, so much so that it's already out-earned the 2002 movie's entire run.
Per Variety, Zach Cregger's latest horror feature earned $60 million at the domestic box office and $48.3 million at the international box office, making for a total opening weekend of $108.3 million. The first entry in the video game movie franchise, 2002's Resident Evil, earned $26 million in its opening weekend and $102 million in its entire run.
Keep in mind, Cregger's Resident Evil had a budget of just $75 million, and has already earned it back and more in its opening weekend. It's a great time to be a horror fan.
The new movie tells a new story within the world of Resident Evil, rather than adapting a specific installment of the massively popular video games. Austin Abrams plays Bryan, a visibly exhausted, down-on-his-luck medical courier who agrees to take a mysterious green package all the way over to Raccoon City... where, unbeknownst to him, people are mutating left and right. Cregger directs from a screenplay he penned wth Shay Hatten.
The film currently has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with our own review calling it the "best video game movie to date." Cregger is on a pretty great run given that Barbarian and Weapons each have a 92% on RT, with the latter earning some Oscar noms and winning one for Amy Madigan's portrayal of villain Aunt Gladys. It's worth noting that Cregger actually made his directorial debut in 2009 alongside late friend and collaborator Trevor Moore (who is given a sweet nod in Weapons), and if horror isn't your thing... why not check out the plucky romcom Miss March?
Resident Evil is in theaters now. For more, check out our handy list of all the Resident Evil Easter eggs we spotted during the film, or, check out our guide on how Resident Evil connects to the games.
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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.
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