Sony's Record-Breaking Horror Thriller Officially Removed From Hundreds Of Theaters

Published Oct 13, 2026, 6:39 PM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." Resident Evil has been removed from several theaters as the Sony horror thriller continues its successful box office run. Many live-action movies have been released in the Resident Evil franchise. That includes several films led by Milla Jovovich's Alice, a more faithful attempt in the form of 2021's Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, though that did not work as well as the studio hoped, and now Zach Cregger's reboot. The latter benefited from the perfect storm, as 2026's theatrical releases have proven that this is a massive year for horror films in theaters, with projects like Obsession and Backrooms breaking records. The new Resident Evil also came after Cregger's horror hit Weapons. Now, Resident Evil rages on despite losing theaters. According to Box Office Mojo, Resident Evil has lost around 600 theaters from its total count back when the movie was released in theaters on September 18. The new horror thriller's theatrical run began with 3,684 theaters carrying the movie in the United States. As of Sunday, October 11, that number has gone down to 3,085 theaters, which is still a healthy total for a movie that is breaking franchise records at the box office. Even though Resident Evil went down roughly 600 theaters from its initial release, Sony's new horror movie racked up $8.6 million in its latest domestic opening weekend. Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection At the time of writing, Resident Evil is at a domestic total of $140.1 million. Added to the film's international tally, Resident Evil has crossed the coveted $300 million mark, currently standing at $323.1 million. Based on the horror movie's reported budget of $75 million, Cregger's latest needed to finish its global box office run in the range of $150 million to $187.5 million just to break even. With a healthy theatrical run thus far, 2026's Resident Evil has already eclipsed that target, setting its sights on a potential $500 million global finish, which seems like a best-case scenario right now. The new R-rated horror thriller's current total of $323.1 million has also cemented it as the highest-grossing Resident Evil movie of all time. Previously, the franchise record belonged to Jovovich's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which was released in theaters on January 27, 2017. Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, the final Resident Evil movie to star Jovovich brought in $312.2 million around the world. While it once again focused on Alice, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter included beloved characters from the video game franchise, such as Claire Redfield and Albert Wesker. Now, it has finally been surpassed by Cregger's reboot. Sony has yet to announce what is next for the Resident Evil movie franchise. While Cregger's 2026 reboot has become a global box office hit, there are no guarantees that the in-demand director will return for a sequel. Additionally, based on the way Resident Evil ended, a possible sequel could very well work with and without star Austin Abrams as Bryan. Now, around 600 theaters down from its initial release, it remains to be seen how much higher Resident Evil can climb at the domestic box office. Release Date September 18, 2026 Runtime 90 Minutes Director Zach Cregger Writers Shay Hatten, Zach Cregger Producers Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Miri Yoon, Robert Kulzer, Roy Lee, Zach Cregger, David Minkowski Cast