Zach Cregger's recent Resident Evil film has achieved considerable box office success, but new data suggests that a series of discounts offered on digital platforms prior to the movie's release were the main catalyst for a surge in Resident Evil game sales. Following the film's debut, a more modest increase in sales was observed.
According to Rhys Elliott, an analyst at Alinea, Capcom implemented discounts on several Resident Evil titles on September 10, maintaining these reduced prices even after Cregger's film premiered. The majority of this sales activity occurred on PlayStation platforms. Resident Evil 2 saw its sales nearly double on PS5, while experiencing only a 16% increase on Steam. Similarly, Resident Evil 4's PS5 sales jumped by 77%, contrasting with a flat 0% on Steam. Elliott noted that Resident Evil 2 and 4 experienced an additional 50-65% rise in PS5 copy sales even after accounting for the discounts, attributing this sustained interest to the games' blend of nostalgia, quality, and the familiar Raccoon City setting featured in the film. On Steam, the movie's influence on sales was considerably less pronounced, with an 11% to 14% increase.
Older Resident Evil titles were available at significantly lower prices compared to their initial launch costs. The most recent entry, Resident Evil Village, was discounted by 30%, making it available for $49 before returning to its $70 price point this month. The film's release reportedly reactivated a pre-existing fanbase, leading to higher overall engagement across the entire Resident Evil series. However, Elliott pointed out that the movie, which features an original story and a new protagonist, lacks a clear entry point for newcomers to the franchise. This contrasts with the significant overlap between horror film and horror game audiences, and Cregger's established reputation following his work on "Barbarian" and "Weapons."
Looking ahead, Resident Evil Veronica, slated for release next year, holds significant potential. With nearly 2 million Steam wishlists already, the game stars Claire Redfield and is set approximately three months after the events of Raccoon City, the central event of the recent film. If the film's streaming release is timed to coincide with Veronica's launch, Capcom and Sony could create a stronger connection between transmedia projects and their game counterparts, a connection that is currently often lacking. In its second week of release, the Resident Evil film was surpassed in box office performance by "Avengers: Endgame," which reclaimed the top spot with a $26 million domestic haul during its re-release. Despite this, the Resident Evil movie has performed strongly, exceeding initial expectations with a global box office total of over $196 million. This positions it as the fourth highest-grossing live-action Resident Evil film to date, though it still trails behind "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter," which grossed $312 million in 2016. The film has garnered critical acclaim, earning a Metascore of 79 on Metacritic from 51 reviews. Critics noted that by deviating from the established game narratives and characters, Cregger allowed audiences to experience Resident Evil from a fresh perspective.