2026 has been a fantastic year to be a fan of zombie and horror projects. The undead took over the small screen with the release of the third season of The Walking Dead: Dead City, which reinvigorated the spin-off show. When it comes to the big screen, surprise scary hits like Obsession and Backrooms took over the box office and proved the genre is more alive than ever. Better yet, horror and zombies made for a perfect combination thanks to the release of Zach Cregger's Resident Evil.
Capcom's iconic video game saga had never found much cinematic success prior to 2026. Fortunately, the curse was finally broken when Resident Evil (2026) received rave reviews. While the adaptation took creative liberties with the source material, the experience of playing an RE title was perfectly captured.
All the elements fans have come to expect from the games were present on the big screen, including weapon upgrading, backtracking, an unkillable monster that terrorizes the main character from the start, and tons of inconveniently placed locks. This proved to be the perfect recipe for success, as Resident Evil (2026) just crossed a major box-office milestone.
Zach Cregger's Resident Evil surpasses $350 million at the box office and is on track to reach $400 million
The Resident Evil games feature mutating "zombies" that can turn into nearly unkillable monsters. Likewise, the Resident Evil (2026) film mutated into an unstoppable juggernaut at the box office, grossing $361 million worldwide as of Sept. 18, 2026. Furthermore, the film is on track to surpass the $400 million mark, which is an astounding feat.
For reference, here are the ten highest-grossing R-rated horror films ever released, and where Resident Evil (2026) could rank among them by the end of its theatrical run:
- It - $719 million
- Obsession - $522 million
- The Conjuring: Last Rites - $499 million
- It Chapter Two - $473 million
- The Exorcist - $430 million
- Prometheus - $403 million
- Resident Evil (2026) - $400 million (projected)
- Backrooms - $400 million
- Sinners - $371 million
- The Nun - $366 million
Resident Evil (2026) had a production budget of $75 million. Accounting for marketing and distribution expenses (which are usually the same amount as the production budget), the film needed around $150 million to $187.5 million to break even. So not only has the horror project become profitable already, but it is on its way to doubling its initial investment.
Interestingly enough, Zach Cregger's Resident Evil (2026) has also been pushing sales records in the video game industry. After the movie's success, sales of the Resident Evil 2 remake increased by 64% on the PlayStation 5. Moreover, sales of the Resident Evil 4 remake increased by 54% on the same console. A key factor to take into consideration is that Capcom put all of its remakes on sale in the PS Store ahead of the film's release, which also aided in such a steep sales increase.
The success of Resident Evil (2026) means a sequel is likely. After all, director Zach Cregger has confirmed he already has ideas for where the story may head next. However, it's also important to keep in mind that he previously stated that Resident Evil (2026) will be his first and last franchise film, which means a hypothetical sequel could move forward with a different director.
Only time will tell what's in store for the Resident Evil franchise on the big screen. In the meantime, fans can look forward to the release of Resident Evil Veronica on all major consoles next year, while it has been revealed that Resident Evil Requiem will get DLC expansions, too.
Resident Evil (2026) is now playing in theaters.
Add us as a preferred source on Google