Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ Reboot Now Projected for $120-150 Million Global Opening

Zach Cregger has quietly established himself as one of horror’s most bankable directors in recent years, with both ‘Barbarian’ and ‘Weapons’ becoming significant hits through word-of-mouth rather than just critical acclaim. This impressive track record made him an intriguing choice to revive a franchise that has struggled for over two decades to fully capitalize on its video game origins.

The ‘Resident Evil’ series has always had a complicated relationship with box office success. Despite having a dedicated fanbase and a worldwide audience of horror enthusiasts, the franchise’s previous seven films peaked at $26.6 million domestically with 2010’s ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife,’ while some installments managed to earn hundreds of millions globally.

Cregger’s reboot is set to surpass those figures. According to tracking data shared by Global Box Office on social media, the film is projected to debut between $120 million and $150 million globally next week, with pre-sales already underway in several countries and IMAX and other premium large-format screenings performing exceptionally well overseas.

Such a global figure would mark a significant improvement for a franchise that has historically relied more on international audiences than domestic ones. Domestic tracking alone indicates a record-breaking opening, with early estimates from Deadline suggesting the film could start around $35 million, especially as first-day sales have exceeded expectations.

Some reports suggest even higher domestic figures, with Boxoffice Pro estimating projections between $40 million and $50 million, which would surpass the opening weekend totals of all previous ‘Resident Evil’ films in just one weekend. Regardless of the final domestic total, it is expected to comfortably exceed the $26.7 million debut that ‘Afterlife’ has maintained for over a decade.

Much of the excitement surrounding these projections can be traced back to Cregger’s recent successes. His last film, ‘Weapons,’ opened to $43.5 million domestically and went on to gross $151.5 million in North America and $270 million worldwide against a modest budget of $38 million.

This new iteration of ‘Resident Evil’ features Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier who finds himself in a chaotic, blood-soaked survival situation over one terrifying night, with Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser in supporting roles. Cregger co-wrote the screenplay with Shay Hatten and filmed the movie in Prague, crafting a story set within the game universe without directly adapting any specific title from the franchise.

This creative decision has sparked some debate among longtime fans of the games, who have expressed disappointment over the choice to tell an entirely original story instead of adapting an existing entry. Nevertheless, the backlash does not seem to be affecting ticket demand, as evidenced by the reported presale activity.

The film is set to hit theaters on September 18, alongside Warner Bros.’ ‘Practical Magic 2,’ marking one of the most significant box office duels of the fall season. With Sony investing heavily in a global marketing campaign, including international press events for Cregger and Abrams, the studio is clearly banking on this reboot to finally transform ‘Resident Evil’ into the box office powerhouse that its devoted fanbase has always envisioned.

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