Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil has become the first film in the franchise to hit $100 million at the US box office just 10 days after it was released.
The horror blockbuster stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier who takes on the task of delivering a mysterious package to Raccoon City General Hospital.
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During his journey, he comes across several mutating creatures hellbent on tearing him limb from limb, plunging Bryan into a fight for survival.
After garnering $60 million during its opening weekend at the domestic box office, Cregger’s adaptation of the iconic gaming franchise has earned $103.4 million in US theaters so far since being released on September 18.
This makes it the first film in the Resident Evil franchise to hit $100 million at the domestic box office, surpassing 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife, which earned $60.1 million.
The film’s worldwide total sits at $196.4 million, which means it is just days away from passing the $200 million mark.
The highest-grossing film in the franchise is 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter at $312.2 million globally.
Cregger’s Resident Evil has more than quadrupled the total worldwide haul of the franchise’s previous film, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which made $41.9 million at the worldwide box office.
Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil currently has a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, also making it the highest-rated film in the franchise.
Speaking to Deadline ahead of the film’s release, Weapons and Barbarian director Cregger explained how he came up with the concept of the film, which does not follow any of the characters or storylines laid out in the games.
“It came about [when] I was on the set of Barbarian,” he began. “I was in Bulgaria and my producer, Roy Lee, was like, ‘Is there any video game franchise you would want to adapt?’ And I was like, ‘Only Resident Evil.’
“But I mean, yeah, good luck, right? Because at that time, Barbarian hadn’t come out; I didn’t have any juice whatsoever. And he was like, ‘Well, you should think about a take. You should think about what it could be.’ I couldn’t help myself; I was thinking.
“Then Barbarian came out, and it was a success. And so I figured, OK, I can go knock on their door and pitch this idea.”
He continued: “I’d come up with the concept …I’d had the concept for the movie. So I had lunch with Constantine and I was like, ‘Here’s what I would do. I would like to just bring this to survival horror. I’d like to make a movie that feels like it feels when you play a Resident Evil game. So, gritty, horror-first, medical courier, blah, blah, blah.’
“I kind of mapped out the whole story. It took 30 seconds — it’s a very simple story — and they dug it. They were down, and so I was able to go start writing where I had the beginning and the middle and the end in my head already.”