Resident Evil's Zach Cregger Reboot Just Scored the Franchise's Biggest Opening Weekend Ever

Published 23 September 2026. Words like "tonight" or "next week" refer to that date.

Resident Evil just delivered the franchise's biggest opening weekend ever, by far, and it did it with the best CinemaScore and the best Rotten Tomatoes numbers the series has ever posted from both critics and audiences. After Practical Magic 2 underperformed last weekend, with Hollywood projecting 40 to 50 million and audiences only delivering 30, there was real nervousness that Spider-Man might have been a one off for theatrical. Resident Evil answered that question loudly.

Resident Evil scores the franchise's biggest opening ever and gives Sony a badly needed win

The budget story here is interesting. It is being called the franchise's biggest budget ever, though not really, because it is actually the same core budget as previous entries with 20 million stacked on top of it specifically for Zach Cregger to write, direct and produce. That is a genuinely great business position for a filmmaker to be in. I do think executives are going to keep trying to wrestle that kind of money back for themselves, which is part of why there is such a fight happening in the industry right now over profit participation.

Sony needs a new successful franchise badly, and they will happily spend the money to get one, especially since they really only have Spider-Man left after losing Bond to Amazon. Sony does have a couple of smaller healthy franchises, and there are high hopes that Dwayne Johnson can pull out of his current slump with Jumanji 3.

I think the fix for franchises like that is obvious at this point: get yourself an auteur director. That is exactly what happened here, and a rising tide lifts all ships, for horror franchises generally, for Cregger, for Austin Abrams and for video game movies as a category. Horror has already had a strong run, with The Conjuring and Final Destination posting banner entries last year, and even Jurassic World pivoted more into horror territory, though that one did not make a billion for other reasons.

Zach Cregger and Austin Abrams are shaping up as Hollywood's next great director-actor pairing

Director and actor pairings can be enormously valuable for both parties, and history is full of them: Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, Martin Scorsese with Robert De Niro and later Leonardo DiCaprio, Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone. A new one appears to have just been born in Cregger and Abrams, who first worked together on Weapons. As Cregger has told it, Abrams was the only actor who did not bail on him during the strikes that put Weapons into a holding pattern and cost him the rest of his cast, a situation that can sink a movie entirely. Abrams was not a big enough star on his own to guarantee that film got made, but I think the loyalty meant something to Cregger, and he rewarded it with the lead role here.

Cregger is not the first horror director to explode onto the scene this way, and horror has traditionally been a great low budget, big box office launching pad for a career. His next project is already lined up producing with Steven Spielberg. The comparison that worries me a little is what happened to the horror director famous for his early twist driven hits and to Jordan Peele, both of whom tripped themselves up after huge early runs. I think it helps that Cregger's scripts are not built around third act twists, which can get tiresome and hard to keep inventing. I do think he needs to work on his endings though, and I have seen criticism of his ability to close a film out. Someone pointed out to me that as jarring as this ending is, it is what makes the movie haunt you afterward. That final shot seared itself into my brain. Not bad, Cregger.

According to the trades, 37 percent of the audience showed up specifically for Cregger, which is remarkable this early in his career and shows how much audiences are now paying attention to who is directing. There is also a real parallel running through the movie about humanity being put in peril by corporate greed that the government either does nothing to stop or actively encourages, sometimes both, and I think that timeliness is part of why it is connecting.

Which career path does Austin Abrams follow next

When I first saw Resident Evil I was thinking Sam Rockwell as the comparison for Abrams. Watching it a second time, I thought maybe Sharlto Copley. Then seeing how many people were reacting to Abrams on social media, I thought maybe Michael J. Fox. Sam Rockwell always works, is award winning and deeply respected, but is not quite A-list enough to open a movie alone, which would still be a great path for Abrams. Sharlto Copley is the cautionary path, a flurry of great activity as one half of his own director and actor pairing before both of them disappeared. Michael J. Fox is the huge iconic star outcome, though his career was tragically cut short by his diagnosis, which he has since dedicated his life to fighting. I thought his speech at the Emmys was incredible.

The wrinkle is that another film starring Abrams is about to hit theaters, and if it opens only mediocre, people will say it is not Abrams selling tickets rather than crediting Resident Evil's success to him. If I were his management, I would try to lock down his next project within the next week or so, before that film opens, ideally another franchise role or leading part, balanced with a smaller awards type film so he does not look like a flash in the pan.

Cregger has not cast his Spielberg movie yet, and I do not know if Abrams should lead it again, but I would be pushing hard for at least a cameo. If the movie does not do well without him, that is the kind of thing an agent should be pointing out, the way Richard Dreyfuss reportedly used to push Spielberg directly.

Video game movies are finally having their big Hollywood moment

46 percent of the audience, it seems, came out specifically for the Resident Evil brand, which means less than half the crowd was there purely for the franchise name, and that is genuinely exciting for how far the IP can now expand. This is the eighth Resident Evil movie, yet I have never seen more people interested in the property. As comic books try to hold on to their place in Hollywood, video games are clearly knocking at the door, and honestly there is room for both.

More is coming: Street Fighter and Clayface both had tickets going on sale that week, with Street Fighter also landing in IMAX, and neither had enough A-list reservations at the time, which is its own kind of insanity. Next year brings The Legend of Zelda along with Minecraft and Sonic sequels, and there is a possible A24 Hideo Kojima adaptation and Five Nights at Freddy's 3 both trying to land 2027 release dates that are not yet set. On streaming, God of War appears to have had a delay after having to recast its lead due to injury, and a new Tomb Raider has reportedly had some set issues. Mortal Kombat 2 got pushed back by Warner Bros, which is a shame, and that slowdown may be tied to the question mark hanging over the Warner Bros and Paramount merger.

Some longtime fans have reacted to this new Resident Evil with frustration that it does not match the games, but I think you have to make IP accessible to a broader audience as it jumps mediums. Now that the movie is not just successful but respected, the next entry can start layering in more characters and elements from the games, and I am genuinely excited to imagine the caliber of actors who could now play Leon S. Kennedy, siblings Chris and Claire Redfield, and Jill Valentine. The idea of Robert Pattinson playing Leon started as a joke, and while he is arguably too big for it now, and a little loopy besides, plenty of people did not think it was a bad idea, especially if Cregger were the one making the call. Cregger has already produced Companion, which was good but nowhere near the caliber of Weapons or Resident Evil, and he is producing rather than directing the Weapons sequel. For a future Resident Evil, I would offer him something like 25 million plus profit participation, an even bigger budget, and enough money to bring in real stars.

Practical Magic 2 drops hard, and its director hire gets blamed

Practical Magic 2 fell 59 percent, a steeper drop than Beetlejuice 2 saw in its own second weekend, even though Beetlejuice 2 opened bigger under a similar Warner Bros release strategy. It is a smaller film doing solid enough business, and it plays as much as a digital and streaming title as a theatrical one, mostly for existing fans. I do wonder if it could have done more with a stronger directorial hire than Susanne Bier. We are living in the age of the auteur director now, and any production that treats directing as just pointing a camera is missing that a director leads the whole creative vision. I think who is directing has become just as important to audiences as who is starring, and I would love to see who is writing reach that same level of importance too.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey and Coyote vs Acme keep holding steady

The three winners of the summer are staying in formation, with Coyote vs Acme dropping only two spots and none of the three yet moving to digital, though Coyote vs Acme is now dated for digital release on September 29th. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now the highest grossing film of all time domestically. The Odyssey is the most successful R-rated film of all time and Christopher Nolan's most successful film, and it is starting to gain real awards momentum, with some people suggesting it could win Best Picture, which would be an incredible feather in Nolan's cap. Coyote vs Acme could catch up to the last Space Jam movie domestically and should also do extremely well on digital and streaming, as should all three of these films.

Angel Studios' membership guild hits 3 million as other titles round out the top ten

Runner stumbled a bit in just its second weekend, which is what led into the Angel Studios news: its membership guild has hit 3 million members, doubling its ranks in a single year. Membership includes streaming platform access along with a vote or feedback on which movies and shows get made, which I find genuinely interesting as a level of audience participation in the business side, and it is arriving as Angel Studios keeps doing better at the box office alongside that membership growth. It could be a Pandora's box, but for smaller companies it might be an effective business model. Elsewhere in the top ten, a faith-based film starring Mena Massoud from Aladdin did well this weekend, and a Fathom-released 40th anniversary re-release of Transformers also made the top ten, a good sign that there is still love for that franchise and for Fathom's ability to land movies in the top ten.

Nielsen speeds up its reports, but the numbers raise real questions about Lanterns

Nielsen is shortening the lag on its reports from a month down to just 11 days, which is a welcome change, though it came with a catch: some weeks of data appear to have been skipped entirely as Nielsen jumped ahead to catch up to August. The bigger surprise in the new first-week-of-September chart is Lanterns, which not only failed to make the overall chart but landed pretty far down the acquired chart, and it is not clear why an HBO Max show is even being classified as acquired rather than original when it is one service. Even on the originals chart it would barely register. There is no way to see how episodes one through three performed, so there is no sense of whether viewership is climbing, falling or holding steady, and this low number is for episode four despite earlier episodes being available to catch up on and boost the count.

I would slow down any hope for a Lanterns movie right now, and I would just hope for a season two. I had assumed the lack of a season two announcement was because they did not want to spoil the ending, but now I am a little worried it might be something else. In many ways this is still a successful show, and I would be shocked if it was not renewed, but there have been a lot of shocking headlines in streaming lately, so nothing can be counted on until it is officially announced.

Reacher, The Big Bang Theory and Ted Lasso still dominate the streaming charts

Reacher and The Big Bang Theory are still on top of the overall chart a month later, joined by Ted Lasso season four. On that note, I am fully back into Ted Lasso season four. "I see the strings, I see how they're emotionally manipulating me. I don't care. I'm really enjoying it." New arrivals include a new Tyler Perry film on Netflix and the Russo brothers' Whisper Man, along with Lioness, Death of a Pastor's Wife and the final season of Outer Banks. The Mandalorian and Grogu, which just hit Disney Plus this week, barely made the overall chart, and Whisper Man is apparently not very good despite topping the originals side of that chart. The Gentleman and Silo also charted, and Leanne season two is still holding on, not as strong as season one in my view, though I would still like to see her get a season three since I think sitcoms matter for the streaming landscape.

On the movies chart, the week followed Dolly Parton's passing, which explains 9 to 5 showing up there. Ryan Reynolds' Mayday posted a surprisingly low number, though it only had two days on the chart since it released that Friday, so it may look better next week. Apple TV walked away with the most Emmys on Monday night, largely thanks to shows including Pluribus, but it still clearly does not have enough reach to make a real dent in the pop culture conversation despite the quality of its content. On Netflix's own faster internal charts, K-pop Demon Hunters fell out of the top ten last week but popped right back in this week, Tyler Perry delivered another sequel to what was originally a theatrical release and is now a Netflix exclusive, and Shrek is still hugely popular all these years later.

Kosm's minispheres could be a bigger deal than people realize

Shrek's staying power is what leads into Kosm, which I think is going to be a big part of the future of the entertainment business. Kosm already has a deal with Warner Bros and has done experiences based on Harry Potter, The Matrix and Wonka, and just this past week Universal signed its own deal, with Shrek as the first film they plan to adapt. When I saw one of these for myself, I kept thinking about how every studio is not already working with these people. These are essentially minispheres, smaller inside than the Las Vegas Sphere but feeling big once you are inside watching in what they call shared reality. They also show sporting events, at even higher ticket prices, along with circus and documentary content, and they have teased something for Christmas that I think is going to be huge.

I think this fits into the same premium large format trend that has already given PLF screens so much sway, and it should not be slept on, especially as more locations get built. Tickets sell out fast despite being pricey. The food, on the other hand, needs work. If there were one in the tri-state area I would probably go monthly if I could get there easily. It really is something. It must be close to what it felt like to see the first talking picture or the first color film.

What's opening next: Pattinson's Primetime, Brad Pitt's Heart of the Beast and a packed slate

This weekend brings Robert Pattinson's Primetime, which is already close to sold out in big cities, positioning it as his moment front and center. Avengers Endgame is also getting a theatrical re-release, though it is unclear how much new material is actually included. I have heard maybe not much, though Marvel is generally good at last minute surprises. Brad Pitt reunites with director David Ayer for Heart of the Beast, and there is a rumor of a new Cliff Booth trailer arriving alongside it, tied to the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel with David Fincher directing and Quentin Tarantino writing, which is set to be an IMAX exclusive from Netflix for Thanksgiving and will not be available anywhere else, including on Netflix itself, for a while after that. Good luck getting tickets for that one.

October is stacked well beyond this weekend. Street Fighter and Clayface both open with tickets already on sale, another film starring Austin Abrams arrives, and there is a Sense and Sensibility adaptation as well as Laika's Wildwood, which reportedly could not land a distribution deal with any studio and is being released independently through Fathom Events instead. Awards season titles are also starting to jockey for screens this month, which is a good problem for the industry even if it makes scheduling messy for everyone else.

Beyond that, DreamWorks released its animated film Forgotten Island that same week. Tuesday's digital slate includes Camp Miasma, Spa Weekend, Ice Cream Man and Super Troopers 3, alongside Toy Story 5 landing on Disney Plus and Back Rooms arriving on HBO Max. Wednesday brings a Lily Reinhart romcom on Prime Video reportedly based on fanfiction, the same way Heated Rivalry started, though its social media promotion has struggled to gain traction. Friday brings a Netflix film about the Unabomber starring Russell Crowe, Shailene Woodley and Jacob Tremblay, plus the return of Kevin Hart's interview show. HBO is debuting a new series tied to Bad Sisters, and I noticed HBO is leaning heavily into Cillian Murphy's son, who appears in that show and in the upcoming series War. Apple TV starts Brothers, Netflix has a Willy Wonka reality competition, and Survivor returns for its 51st season. American Horror Story comes back Thursday, The Great British Baking Show returns Friday on Netflix, and Saturday Night Live is back this weekend with Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks hosting, which could bring out a wave of celebrity Knicks fans.

What late September and October releases are you most looking forward to?