Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Projected to Have Best Opening in Franchise History

Interest in the new Resident Evil adaptation continues to grow.

Boxoffice Pro has raised its box office projections for Zach Cregger’s new Resident Evil film. According to the latest estimate, the movie could earn between $40 million and $50 million during its opening weekend in theaters across the United States and Canada. The publication previously projected a $30 million to $40 million start.

Even the low end of the new projection would be enough to set a franchise record. That record currently belongs to Resident Evil: Afterlife, which grossed $26.65 million during its opening weekend in 2010. Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction both debuted with $23 million, while the original 2002 film opened with $17.7 million.

This projected result stands in stark contrast to the previous attempt to reboot the series. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City earned just $5.3 million at launch in 2021. Even the low end of the current forecast exceeds that figure by more than seven times.

The new Resident Evil tells an independent story set within the Resident Evil universe. The main character, Brian, played by Austin Abrams, is given the task of delivering a container with a donor organ to a hospital in Raccoon City, but a simple courier mission turns into a harsh fight for survival. Brian must push through increasingly dangerous locations, search for weapons, and fend off mutants that become only more terrifying with every encounter.

The new Resident Evil will premiere in international theaters on September 18, 2026.