Practical Magic 2 dethroned Spider-Man: Brand New Day from the top spot at the U.S. box office last week, but the long-awaited sequel still didn't find the biggest audience (it debuted with $46 million worldwide, $30 million of which was from domestic screenings).
However, as we first reported on GameFragger.com, filmmaker Zach Cregger looks set to put Resident Evil back on the map in a big way this weekend.
Deadline has revealed that Resident Evil has scared up the best previews ever for the video game/horror franchise, with an expected $8.8 million haul. This decimates the "record" set by 2016's Resident Evil: Final Chapter, which made $1 million from previews.
Early estimates pointed to an opening weekend in the $40 million to $50 million range. However, those figures have been revised, and the reboot could open with above $50 million by close of business on Sunday. Word of mouth will be crucial for this one, but it could go as high as $65 million to $70 million.
"Certified Fresh" at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, Resident Evil has also scored a franchise-best 91% on the fan-generated Popcornmeter. That's considerably higher than 2002's Resident Evil, which had the series' previous best audience score at 67%.
This movie's current Thursday haul tops Cregger's last movie, Weapons ($5.75 million), and titles like Scream 7 ($7.8 million) and Mortal Kombat 2 ($5.2 million). Resident Evil has also laid claim to the sixth-biggest previews haul ever for horror, beaten only by IT ($13.5 million), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice ($13 million), IT: Chapter Two ($10.5 million), Backrooms ($10.4 million), and Five Nights at Freddy's ($10.3 million).
Resident Evil has a reported budget of $75 million, so it's well on its way to being a box office hit for Sony Pictures following the staggering success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
For what it's worth, Cregger appears open to the idea of returning to the world of Resident Evil. Asked by The Playlist about a sequel, he replied, "I can’t help thinking about other places this story could go. I’ve got ideas, but this movie hasn’t even come out yet. Let’s see what happens."
From the mind of visionary filmmaker Zach Cregger (Weapons, Barbarian) comes a thrilling — and terrifying — reinvention of the Resident Evil franchise. In an all-new story, Resident Evil follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in an action-packed, non-stop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos.
The cast also includes Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser. Cregger directs from a screenplay he wrote with Shay Hatten, and producers include Robert Kulzer, Zach Cregger, Roy Lee, Miri Yoon, Carter Swan, and Asad Qizilbash. The executive producers are Oliver Berben, Victor Hadida, Richard Wright, and Robert Bernacci.
Resident Evil is set to be released in theaters on September 18.