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Count on Zach Cregger‘s Resident Evil as one of the biggest openers this month in addition to Warner Bros’ Practical Magic 2 when it bows in the post-Labor Day frame.
Resident Evil hit tracking this morning with an eye at a $35M start. The pic debuts in theaters on Sept. 18. We’re hearing first-days sales were huge, and could push this forecast much higher, maybe even $50M.
Still at $35M, that’s the biggest domestic opening ever in the Constantin/Colombia Pictures franchise, besting the $26.6M North American opening of 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife. Why does the fourth movie in the seven-title $1.27 billion global-grossing series own the biggest opening? Why, because it was during the post-Avatar digital 3D craze.
What gives this Resident Evil a boost at the box office is genre and cineastes’ fervor for Cregger post his Oscar-winning and blockbuster Weapons ($151.5M domestic, $270M WW box office).
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Currently, the Austin Abrams-Paul Walter Hauser-starring Resident Evil is strong with men under 25 in first choice, followed by men over 25. First choice is well ahead of Weapons ($43.5M U.S. opening), Alien: Romulus ($42M) and 28 Years Later ($30M).
However, Resident Evil is currently behind the first choice of this past summer’s Mortal Kombat II by -23%. Originally, Mortal Kombat II was set to open to $50M back in mid-May when it landed on tracking, but it wound up coming in under projections at $38.5M. Despite the strong word of mouth we’ve heard about first day sales (Sept. 1) of Resident Evil, the asterisk here is whether it finds an audience well beyond the core fans.
Co-written with Shay Hatten, Sony’s Resident Evil follows Bryan, a medical courier tasked with delivering an important package to the infamous in-game dwellings of Raccoon City. However, when Bryan arrives, he finds himself in a nonstop race for survival as the treacherous night unfolds around him.
Meanwhile, we’re hearing that Practical Magic 2 when it opens next Friday is looking at a $40M+ start.