Zach Cregger’s quirky new Resident Evil film is a big success, recording the best opening weekend for a Resident Evil film ever.
Cregger’s Resident Evil pulled in $108.3 (£93m) globally during its opening weekend, Deadline reported, split $60m in the US market and $48.3m internationally. That’s more than Cregger’s hit horror Weapons ($70m) and comfortably higher than any of the previous Resident Evil films. It’s apparently the second-best result for a horror film this year behind the sensation that was Backrooms ($118m).
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Incidentally, the first Jovovich Resident Evil film, released in 2002, made $102.9m in total, Deadline noted, so Cregger’s film has already beaten it. 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter has a lifetime total of approximately $312m (half of that apparently coming from China).
Cregger’s comedic approach to the Resident Evil series divided opinion in the run up to release. He decided to opt for a non-heroic approach, rejecting roles for famed series characters Leon S. Kennedy and the Redfields, and preferring instead to tell a more everyday story through the eyes of medical delivery driver Bryan (played by actor Austin Abrams) who bumbles his way through an extraordinarily bad day on the job.
I watched Resident Evil at the weekend and really liked it. By using comedy, Cregger has found a new approach, which actually affords the film some surprisingly unsettling and shocking moments. It’s much harder to predict.
There’s plenty of horror here, by the way, alongside the absurd comedy, but there’s also a much more grounded and ‘easier to relate to’ story, as Bryan fumbles with guns and ammo and nerves, and blurts out reactions closely mirrored – in my case – by the audience’s thoughts.
Game-maker Capcom is currently working on a remake of old Resident Evil game Code: Veronica, which it’s calling simply Resident Evil Veronica, which is due for release next year.