Zach Cregger’s ‘Resident Evil’ gave the North American box office a shot in the arm in its first weekend in theaters. The Sony Pictures release earned USD 60 million in ticket sales from 3,684 locations in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.
‘Resident Evil’ tops weekend box office
That’s a best for the video game inspired franchise, of which there have been seven prior movies dating back to 2002, and for the filmmaker behind ‘Weapons’ and ‘Barbarian’. It’s also more than most of the previous films made in their entire domestic runs. The only exception is ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’, which was released in 2010 and netted out with USD 60.1 million, not accounting for inflation.The film stars Austin Abrams (who also played a pivotal role in ‘Weapons’) as a medical courier whose last job of the night finds him battling infected creatures in Raccoon City. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive; it currently boasts a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.The audience was primarily male (66%) and under 35 (75%), according to PostTrak exit polls, and gave it a B+ CinemaScore. Cregger’s previous films have defied a lot of box office logic when it comes to horror movies, whose earnings tend to be front-loaded and drop sharply after the first weekend. ‘Barbarian’ grossed over USD 46 million on a budget under USD 5 million. ‘Weapons’ made USD 270 million on a USD 38 million budget.According to Rentrak, horror movies this year, including hits like ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’, have generated over USD 1.1 billion at the domestic box office.
‘Practical Magic 2’ sees 59% drop in collections
Second place went to ‘Practical Magic 2’, which fell about 59% from its lackluster opening weekend with USD 12.2 million from 4,163 theaters in North America. An additional USD 7 million from international showings brings its running global total to USD 76.8 million.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ and ‘The Odyssey’ extend box office records
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ landed in third place with USD 6.5 million in its eighth weekend, pushing its domestic total to USD 944.5 million. Meanwhile, at the worldwide box office, the film has reportedly esended its record and grossed around USD 2.45 billion. ‘The Odyssey’, in its 10th weekend in theaters, added another USD 4.9 million to take fourth place and extending its global haul to an estimated total of USD 1.7 billion. ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ rounded out the top five with USD 4.5 million.One notable limited release was ‘The History of Concrete’, a documentary from comedian John Wilson, which earned USD 90,000 from one screen (the IFC Center in New York). The only film to make more in a single weekend at that venue was ‘Parasite’, which made USD 119,407.
Top 10 movies at the domestic box office:
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:1. ‘Resident Evil’ – USD 60 million.2. ‘Practical Magic 2’ – USD 12.2 million.3. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ – USD 6.5 million.4. ‘The Odyssey’ – USD 4.9 million.5. ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ – USD 4.5 million.6. ‘Runner’ – USD 3.2 million.7. ‘Daniel and the Fiery Furnace’ – USD 3.1 million.8. ‘Transformers: The Movie (40th anniversary re-release)’ – USD 3.1 million.9. ‘The Weight’ – USD 2.3 million.10. ‘Buddy’ – USD 1.9 million.