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Zach Cregger is, once again, the belle of the ball. A year after “Weapons” exploded in theaters and catapulted Amy Madigan to an Oscar win, his Sony video game adaptation “Resident Evil” sprinted past expectations to open to $60 million this weekend — the highest opening in the IP’s eight-film history. With rave reviews and positive word of mouth, the film is on track to become more than profitable against its $75 million budget.
But the big takeaway from the success of “Resident Evil” isn’t the reinvigoration of the franchise. It’s that Cregger is now a household name capable of putting butts in seats.
The thrilling, funny and genuinely scary 95-minute film is largely devoid of mythology and deliberately steers clear of characters from the games. Instead, Cregger — who pitched his take on the project on a whim — crafted a straight survival journey following one character from Point A to Point Z, making the road as enjoyable (and terrifying) as possible.
In other words, he made the ultimate popcorn movie. In David Fincher parlance (which seems fitting given his influence on the filmmaker), if “Weapons” was his “Seven,” then “Resident Evil” is Cregger’s “Panic Room.”
The success of the film, which I expect to continue for several weeks given how riled up my sold-out crowd was on Friday night, shows what happens when you hand a talented filmmaker a piece of IP with full trust to put their own spin on the material.
That $60 million isn’t because Cregger did everything he could to appeal to video game fans. It’s because he made a banger of a horror movie.
And while some filmmakers become mired in the same franchise for decades on end (for better and worse), Cregger seems to have scratched his itch and is moving right along, as he told TheWrap’s Drew Taylor he’s keen on sticking to original material going forward.
“It’s like, why would I do this again? I can write my own original stuff,” he said.
Indeed, Cregger’s next is an original sci-fi film called “The Flood” that will start production early next year, and returns him to “Weapons” studio Warner Bros. And he’s now well on his way to joining the likes of Christopher Nolan, Ryan Coogler and Greta Gerwig as filmmakers with unique points of view whose name alone can convince people to go to the theaters.
Between “Barbarian,” “Weapons” and now “Resident Evil,” Zach Cregger has earned that trust.
Now, on to the rest as we tackle what’s next for Zach Cregger, the latest in the Paramount-Warner Bros. saga, a high-profile Netflix exit and more in this week’s newsletter.
Box Office: ‘Resident Evil’ Scores a Bloody Good $60 Million Opening
Sony Pictures’ strong third quarter at the box office will continue with the release of “Resident Evil,” which earned a strong $60 million domestic/$108.3 million global opening to set new records for the horror video game franchise and the film’s director, Zach Cregger.
For Cregger, this tops the $43.5 million domestic opening of his 2025 hit “Weapons,” while “Resident Evil” stands with the highest opening for a film to bear the name of Capcom’s survival horror game series even after inflation adjustment. The record previously belonged to Paul W.S. Anderson’s 2010 film “Resident Evil: Afterlife” with $26.6 million or $40.9 million after adjustment.
Whether among gamers or general horror fans, “Resident Evil” should leg out well into October even with competition from Blumhouse’s “Other Mommy” and DC’s “Clayface” coming out closer to Halloween. Reception for Cregger’s gory and darkly humorous take on Raccoon City’s zombie outbreak has been very positive with a B+ on CinemaScore to go with a 95% critics and 91% audience Rotten Tomatoes score.
Internationally, “Resident Evil” earned $48.3 million this weekend, with the United Kingdom and Mexico standing as the top markets with $5.8 million and $5.6 million, respectively. In like-for-like markets, the film is opening 66% ahead of “Weapons,” which grossed $118.5 million overseas. Several markets are still to come for “Resident Evil,” including Japan on Oct. 9.
Prior to the publication of reviews on Wednesday, “Resident Evil” had been tracking for a $40-45 million opening similar to “Weapons.” But exhibitor sources told TheWrap that the majority of ticket sales for the film at their locations have come from walk-ups, signaling that word-of-mouth is spreading fast on this title, giving it a good chance to pass the $300 million global total of “Resident Evil: Afterlife” and become a solidly profitable film for Sony against a $75 million budget shared by TriStar Pictures, Constantin Film and Davis Films.
In second place on the charts is Warner Bros./Alcon’s “Practical Magic 2,” which has fallen 59% from its opening weekend to $12.2 million for a total of $50 million domestic and $76.8 million worldwide. While winning over fans of the original “Practical Magic” from 1998, word-of-mouth is not spreading significantly to a wider audience and the movie is looking like it will not turn a theatrical profit against its $75 million budget.
Completing the top 5 is Ketchup’s “Coyote vs. Acme,” which is still hanging tough with $4.5 million in its fourth weekend, bringing the $50 million acquisition title to a domestic total of $54.8 million. – Jeremy Fuster
The Spotlight
Universal Studios Hollywood’s new “Fast & Furious” roller coaster is a scream — much to the chagrin of nearby residents. Leave it to TheWrap’s Drew Taylor to get the inside story on how the theme park built one of its best attractions, and how the noise from the ride (built on the side of a literal hill) rankled residents down below. Come for the insight, stay for a Roy Disney cameo. Read the full story here.
New Releases
Zach Cregger Profile: The “Resident Evil” filmmaker spoke to Drew Taylor about angry video game fans, meeting Steven Spielberg and his plans to take a break from directing.
“La Bola Negra” for Oscar?: The Spanish-language “La Bola Negra,” which Netflix acquired out of Cannes, won TIFF’s People’s Choice prize, a solid predictor of a Best Picture nomination.
“Musk” on Track: Despite rumors to the contrary, Universal still plans to release Alex Gibney’s four-hour doc internationally.
“NAZA” Release Plans: The controversial Gaza documentary is getting distribution in NY and LA in the coming weeks as Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to revoke the citizenship of the directors.
James Cameron + AI: The filmmaker’s Lightstorm acquired AI-powered 3D tech company Outsyders to create an end-to-end pipeline for 3D rendering.
Concession Stand
Aaron Sorkin says he tried to get David Fincher to direct “The Social Reckoning,” but the filmmaker was locked into Netflix’s “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.”
Speaking of, the trailer for “Cliff Booth” is finally here.
Here’s the inside story of how Jon Voight convinced Donald Trump to back a federal film tax incentive.
“World War Z 2,” a priority for David Ellison once he bought Paramount, is happening with Brad Pitt and director Edward Berger.
Paramount is sequel happy: “Crawl 2” is also coming from the studio, in 2027.
Matthew Lillard issued a mea culpa, apologizing for appearing in “Scream 7” amidst the Melissa Barrera scandal and saying he was “on the wrong side of history.”
Streaming Corner
- Noah Baumbach is leaving Netflix for Warner Bros. The “Marriage Story” filmmaker, who has made all of his movies for the streamer for the last decade, struck a new first-look deal with WB, whose new label Clockwork will release his next film in theaters. It marks an interesting exit just as Netflix is testing the waters with theatrical. David Fincher, another filmmaker under an exclusive Netflix pact, is getting the streamer’s first IMAX release with “Cliff Booth” in November.
What I’m Watching
There is perhaps no better recommendation of seeing “Resident Evil” in a theater than this: The film was so effective in its scares and thrills that at one point in my sold-out Friday night theater, the person next to me literally threw his popcorn bucket into the air in a fit of terror. Screams, followed by hearty laughs, were abundant. The movies!
