The recent Resident Evil film is poised to become director Zach Cregger's most commercially successful movie, with projections indicating it will soon surpass the $270 million worldwide gross of his previous film, Weapons. As of this week, the movie has accumulated $247.6 million globally.
Driving this financial success is the film's recent debut in China on October 5. It is expected to earn approximately $35 million in its opening week in the Chinese market. Should these projections hold true, Resident Evil's worldwide total is expected to exceed $280 million by the end of this week.
Historically, Resident Evil films have performed exceptionally well in China. The 2016 entry, The Final Chapter, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, grossed $159.5 million in China alone, accounting for over half of its worldwide total of $312.2 million and making it the highest-grossing film in the Resident Evil series.
To reach that same financial benchmark, Cregger's current film still has considerable ground to cover. His 2022 film Barbarian achieved a worldwide gross of $46 million, while his earlier work, Miss March, earned $4.6 million worldwide.
In the broader context of video game adaptations, Resident Evil ranks 17th among the highest-grossing films. However, if it surpasses $280 million, it will move ahead of the 2018 Tomb Raider film, which grossed $274.6 million worldwide.
While the film's commercial performance has been strong and it has garnered positive critical reviews, the possibility of a sequel remains uncertain. Cregger has expressed that he has concluded his work on franchise films, though he has indicated that ideas for future stories exist. His next project is a deep-space science fiction film titled The Flood, starring Jennifer Lawrence, which is unrelated to the Halo franchise despite a potential name association.