'Resident Evil' Presale Numbers Indicate Zach Cregger Could Break Franchise Box Office Records

Sony has effectively established a strong September strategy in Hollywood over the past few years, utilizing the typically slower late-summer period to debut horror films with significant blockbuster potential. This approach proved successful last year, and the studio seems poised to replicate that success with a new franchise.

Zach Cregger has transitioned from a cult favorite to one of the most bankable names in horror, following his hit film ‘Barbarian’ with the box office sensation ‘Weapons,’ which grossed $270 million worldwide from a $43.5 million domestic opening. This rising momentum made him a natural choice to helm a franchise reboot, and early sales figures indicate that the gamble is paying off handsomely.

Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ has experienced a strong start in presales, and with a significant number of IMAX and PLF screens, the film is projected to debut domestically between $60 million and $80 million. This would not only mark the highest opening weekend in the franchise’s history but could also be the largest opening of Cregger’s career.

The scale of this anticipated increase becomes clearer when compared to the franchise’s historical performance. No ‘Resident Evil’ film has ever surpassed $27 million in domestic opening weekend earnings, with 2010’s ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ holding the record at $26.6 million, while the original 2002 film opened to just $17.7 million and 2021’s ‘Welcome to Raccoon City’ managed only $5.3 million.

Zach Cregger’s RESIDENT EVIL had an excellent start in pre-sales. Driven by a huge number of IMAX and PLF screens, it’s now on track for a $60M–$80M domestic debut.

It’s the 2nd year in a row Sony has given September a blockbuster-type release. Last year, INFINITY CASTLE opened… pic.twitter.com/WIatnpXylZ

— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) September 2, 2026

Tracking for the film has rapidly improved in recent weeks. Box Office Pro initially estimated a conservative $30 million to $40 million opening, later adjusting that to $40 million to $50 million as ticket sales data began to emerge. The latest projections, now reaching as high as $80 million, represent a significant upward revision from those earlier optimistic forecasts.

Much of this momentum seems to be linked to the film’s IMAX presence, marking the first new wide release shot for IMAX since Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey.’ Previously, ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ was the franchise’s only IMAX release, but Cregger’s version is heavily leveraging premium large format screens as a key part of its rollout.

This isn’t the first time Sony has chosen September to launch a horror film with real box office potential. Last year, ‘Infinity Castle’ opened to $70 million during the same late-summer window, and ‘Resident Evil’ now appears set to match or possibly exceed that figure, marking the second consecutive year the studio has treated September as prime territory for a major event release rather than typical post-summer counterprogramming.

Cregger’s film follows Bryan, a medical courier portrayed by ‘Weapons’ star Austin Abrams, who finds himself in a relentless fight for survival after a routine delivery spirals out of control. Notably, Cregger crafted the story as an original narrative rather than adapting any specific game’s plot, drawing structural inspiration from across the franchise’s history instead.

With ‘Resident Evil’ set to premiere in theaters on September 18, these presale figures indicate that audiences are responding positively to both Cregger’s rising reputation and the franchise’s first significant modern reinvention in years.

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