Zack Cregger's horror adaptation crossed its $187.5 million break-even point as steadier weekday holds pushed the worldwide total past $204 million.
Two weeks in, and Resident Evil still won't let go of the top spot. Zack Cregger's R-rated reboot has now led the North American box office for five consecutive days, and on its second Wednesday it did something no film in this franchise has managed before.
The movie earned $2.3 million that day, according to Box Office Mojo, dropping only 48.9% from the Wednesday prior. That's the best hold of its run so far, and it's enough to make this the strongest second Wednesday the Resident Evil series has ever posted.
It wasn't a given. Monday and Tuesday had looked rougher, down 60.5% and 56.2% from the equivalent days a week earlier, bringing in $2 million and $3 million. The second weekend had dropped 61.7% to $23 million, a steep fall from a $60 million opening. Weekday audiences, it turns out, are proving stickier than weekend ones.
Add it all up and Resident Evil now sits at $204.6 million worldwide, with North America responsible for $110.6 million of that, or just over half. International box office has chipped in $93.9 million. Made on a reported $75 million budget, the film has already cleared its break-even point of $187.5 million, Box Office Mojo's figures suggest, and it's still running in close to 3,700 theatres despite losing some premium large-format screens along the way.
A franchise record, and a second win for Cregger
There's a bragging-rights angle too. This Resident Evil has now overtaken both Resident Evil: Afterlife and Resident Evil: Apocalypse to become the highest-grossing film in the franchise domestically. For a series that's had its share of misses, that's not nothing.
For Cregger, it's the second big theatrical horror hit in a row, following last year's Weapons. Two originals-turned-hits back to back is a rare run for any director working in the genre right now, and distributor Columbia Pictures will be hoping the Austin Abrams-led film keeps climbing through October.
It won't have the field to itself for much longer. Brad Pitt's Heart of the Beast and Robert Pattinson's PrimeTime are both circling as new entrants this weekend, and holdovers like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey aren't going anywhere either. Resident Evil's third weekend numbers, due by Sunday, will show whether that record-setting Wednesday was a turning point or just a good day in a crowded month.
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