Resident Evil overtakes Weapons as Zach Cregger's biggest hit, but only worldwide

Resident Evil is now Zach Cregger's highest-grossing film. China's release lifted it to No. 1 at the global box office in its fourth weekend, with $62.7 million worldwide over the frame, and its total reached $320.2 million, Deadline reports. That beats the $270 million of Cregger's previous film, the Oscar-winning Weapons.

It is a record with a condition attached. Resident Evil is bigger worldwide. At home, and against what it cost, Weapons still leads.

Bigger, but not better on every count

The Numbers' figures for the two films:

• Resident Evil (2026): $60.2 million opening, $138.5 million in North America, $181.7 million internationally, $320.2 million worldwide, on a $75 million budget. That is 4.3 times its cost.
• Weapons (2025): $43.5 million opening, $151.6 million in North America, $118.5 million internationally, $270.1 million worldwide, on a $38 million budget. That is 7.1 times its cost.

Resident Evil opened $16.7 million bigger in North America and is now $13 million behind there. Weapons earned 3.48 times its opening weekend at home; Resident Evil, so far, 2.30. The new film's lead comes entirely from overseas, where it is $63.2 million ahead, and it cost almost twice as much to make.

Resident Evil also started from a wider base: 3,684 theaters on its opening weekend in North America, against 3,202 for Weapons. More screens, a bigger opening and weaker holds have produced a smaller domestic total.

Weapons' Oscar, for the record, went to Amy Madigan for Best Supporting Actress.

China did the heavy lifting, at half the old level

China delivered a $40.6 million opening over the National Day Golden Week holiday, the best start for a horror film there in two years. Deadline notes the franchise has been a favourite in the territory since Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in 2017, which opened to a reported $94.3 million and finished at $159.5 million in China.

So the best horror opening in China in two years is less than half of what The Final Chapter did there nine years ago. IMAX added $8.8 million over the weekend, $7.7 million of it from China, for a $32.8 million IMAX total.

Where else it played, including here

• UK: $17.0 million.
• Mexico: $11.8 million.
• Australia: $8.5 million.
• France: $8.5 million.
• Germany: $7.3 million.
• Spain: $7.1 million.
• Japan: a $3.6 million opening, only now, in the game's home country.

The international total covers 67 markets and more than 38,150 screens. Australia sits level with France and ahead of Germany and Spain.

A reboot after a reboot

This is the eighth live-action Resident Evil film. Constantin Film began planning it in early 2022, after the failure of the previous reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021), and the cancellation of the Netflix series. That 2021 film made $41.9 million worldwide on a $25 million budget, according to The Numbers. The new one passed that in its opening weekend in North America alone.

• Director: Zach Cregger, hired in January 2025. He wrote the script with Shay Hatten.
• Studio fight: four studios, including Warner Bros. and Netflix, bid for the rights; Sony won in March 2025. PlayStation Productions joined the production.
• Shoot: Prague, October 2025 to January 2026.
• Story: Austin Abrams plays Bryan Hodukavich, a medical courier delivering a last-minute package to Raccoon City General Hospital in the snowy Colorado mountains, on the night an outbreak begins. Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser co-star.
• Behind the camera: cinematographer Dariusz Wolski, music by Hays and Ryan Holladay. Producers include Robert Kulzer, Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon and Victor Hadida. Constantin Film, Vertigo Entertainment, Davis Films and Subconscious are among the production companies; Sony Pictures Releasing distributes.
• Running time: 94 minutes, per Wikipedia; The Numbers lists 93.
• Reviews: per Wikipedia, it became the highest-rated video game film on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
• Release: premiered in Los Angeles on September 15; in US cinemas from September 18.

What is still unknown

• Where it finishes. China is in its first weekend; the final total could move well beyond today's.
• Whether it passes Weapons at home. At $13 million behind in its fourth weekend, that is not guaranteed.
• A sequel. Nothing has been announced.

Weapons cost $38 million and won an Oscar. Resident Evil cost $75 million and passed it worldwide on the strength of China. In North America, the smaller film is still ahead.