Zach Cregger supercharges ‘Resident Evil’ franchise with $108m global box office debut

Worldwide box office: Sept 18-20

Credit: Rentrak. All figures are estimates

‘Resident Evil’ sets franchise record opening

Zach Cregger has breathed fresh life into Sony’s Resident Evil franchise after 2021’s Resident Evil: Raccoon City petered out with a $41.9m worldwide lifetime total.

The reboot from the Weapons writer-director – the eighth in the series, and titled simply Resident Evil – has set a franchise record for a single weekend, debuting with an estimated $108.3m worldwide. This number comprises $60.0m in North America and $48.3m across 62 international markets.

In the international market, the film produced by TriStar Pictures, Constantin Film and Davis Film, performed best in UK/Ireland with an estimated $5.8m, just ahead of Mexico ($5.6m), France ($2.6m via local distributor Metropolitan), Australia ($2.6m), Germany ($2.5m via Constantin), Spain ($2.3m) and Brazil ($2.0m).

Imax screenings account for $14.5m of Resident Evil’s opening number – setting a record for a horror film in like-for-like markets.

Cregger’s film has already exceeded the lifetime totals of Raccoon City as well as the first Resident Evil film from 2002 ($103.0m), although these comparisons are not adjusted for inflation.

Lifetime totals more or less steadily increased for the first six films in the series, peaking with 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which reached $312.2m, buoyed by a stunning $159.5m in China. This was one of four Resident Evil films directed by original helmer Paul WS Anderson. The films are adapted from the video game series by Japan’s Capcom.

Cregger was hired in January 2025 to reboot the Resident Evil film franchise.  after he had wrapped production on Weapons, but seven months before the film was released and went on to gross $270.1m worldwide.

Austin Abrahams, who also starred in Weapons, leads the cast as medical courier tasked with delivering a bodily organ to a remote hospital in a wintry setting after dark.

The Resident Evil number sets a record opening for Cregger. Weapons debuted in August 2025 with $71.0m worldwide – $43.5m in North America and $27.5m across 72 international markets.

Resident Evil has yet to be released in several markets, including South Africa, Central Asia and Thailand this coming week, and Japan on October 9.

Also for Sony, Spider-Man: Brand New Day added an estimated $17.3m worldwide, taking the total to $2.48bn. The film needs to gross another $22m to hit $2.5bn. Only two films have grossed more: Avatar ($2.92bn including rereleases) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.80bn).

‘Transformers’ rerelease lands in static worldwide chart

Fathom’s The Transformers: The Movie 40^th Anniversary is the sole other new entry in Rentrak’s worldwide weekend top 10 chart.

This is a rerelease of the 1986 animated film directed by Nelson Shin. The original film, which grossed $10.0m in North America, was considered a box office disappointment at the time. International numbers on the original release are not available.

The anniversary rerelease grossed an estimated $3.9m at the weekend, and $4.9m including previews. North America did the heavy lifting, and 13 international markets contributed an estimated $786,000.

‘The Odyssey’ holds steady in 10^th week of play

Resident Evil grossed more at the weekend than the rest of the worldwide top 10 chart combined. Universal’s The Odyssey holds steady in second place (with Practical Magic slipping from first to third). Christopher Nolan’s Greek epic added an estimated $21.1m in its 10th weekend of play, taking the worldwide total to $1.72bn.

The past week saw The Odyssey overtake Disney’s Inside Out 2 ($1.70bn) to become the 11^th biggest film of all time at the worldwide box office (not adjusted for inflation). But a place in the all-time top 10 looks a step to far. The Odyssey remains $145m behind 10^th-placed Zootopia 2 ($1.87bn lifetime).

Imax accounts for $521.3m of The Odyssey’s worldwide total – a powerful 30%. The Odyssey is the only film ever to achieve $500m in worldwide box office for the format. Imax 70mm accounts for $84.3m of the total.

‘Practical Magic 2’ drops 58% in second session

Sequels usually see relatively steep declines after a fan-loaded opening session, and that is proving to be the case so far with Practical Magic 2.

The Warner Bros release fell 58% at the worldwide box office in its second session: down 59% in North America and 56% across international markets.

Totals after two weekends of play are $50.0m in North America and $26.8m for international – combining for $76.8m globally.

UK/Ireland is the top international market with $7.5m so far, ahead of Australia ($3.6m), Mexico ($2.4m), Germany ($1.3m) and Spain ($1.2m). Yet to crack $1m are Brazil ($988,000), France ($972m), Italy ($721m) and the trailing pack.

The original Practical Magic film grossed $95.4m worldwide by the end of its run in 1998.

‘Coyote Vs Acme’ nears $100m total

Released by Ketchup Entertainment in North America and multiple distributors in international markets, Coyote Vs Acme is about to become a $100m box office success story – with $99.1m worldwide so far.

The Dave Green-directed live action/animation hybrid was famously consigned to the scrapheap by Warner Bros in November 2023 as a tax write-off, before the studio allowed the filmmakers to seek other distribution after a public backlash. Ketchup Entertainment acquired the rights to the film in March 2025.

Coyote Vs Acme added an estimated $10.6m worldwide at the weekend. Totals so far are $54.8m in North America and $44.3m for international.

Coyote Vs Acme is one of nine US titles in the worldwide weekend chart. The sole film from the rest of the world is China’s Once Upon A Time In The Middle East, which is now in its sixth week of play, and ranks eighth globally at the weekend. A lack of powerful new titles arriving in China in recent weeks has contributed to US studio dominance of the current worldwide market.

No longer in the top 10 is A24’s Backrooms, which, however, recorded a box office achievement of note at the weekend – passing $400m worldwide. Universal’s Obsession is likewise no longer in the top 10, but Universal is still reporting on it, and it’s at $516.8m.

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