Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” pulled in $8.8 million in domestic previews on Thursday night, a franchise best and some of the best preview numbers for a recent horror film.
At the start of the weekend, projections for the film were around the $40-50 million mark. Then the reviews started coming in and quickly those numbers have been going up.
Yesterday, speculation had been at $60 million. Today they’re rising still with $65 milllion, even $70 million, being suggested following the title boasting the best critical and audience scores of the franchise by a long shot.
Others are being more cautious, especially considering the franchise’s past track record. Many are drawing comparisons to “Scream 7” earlier this year which pulled in $7.8 million in previews before hitting a $63.6 million domestic opening.
The question now is how front-loaded the film will be and whether the good word of mouth from most audiences will have an impact.
Adding to the complications is that part of the fanbase has opted to hate the film prior to seeing it because it’s not a direct adaptation of the Capcom games and has little in the way of ties to their lore beyond a few mentions.
Source: Deadline
