Zach Cregger says the noise around his Resident Evil film frustrated him because so little of it was about the film. The director made the comments on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, as reported by IGN, just as the movie crossed $400 million at the worldwide box office.
The debate Cregger didn’t want
Asked on the podcast whether he’d make another film based on existing IP, Cregger said he was frustrated that much of the conversation “didn’t have anything to do with the movie”. He described a debate dominated by whether the film met the standards of different groups of game fans: which characters it used, what it got wrong in the lore, and whether departing from the source material was a good or bad thing. Creepy Catalog places the episode’s release on 30 October.
The complaints were familiar from the trailer onwards. Fans asked where Leon was, why Raccoon City was under snow, and why Austin Abrams’ character carried a smartphone. Cregger has said before that he was naive about how fans would react, and he repeated the point here: “I should have known better going into it,” he said, but “for some reason, I was a little shocked.” He added that he’s proud of the film and loves it. We covered his earlier attempts to win fans round in our piece on his response to the franchise’s loudest critics.
The numbers behind the backlash
The box office has largely answered the doubters. Variety reports the film has taken $157.399 million in North America and $242.6 million overseas, for exactly $400 million worldwide. That makes it the highest-grossing film in the 24-year-old franchise, ahead of 2016’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter at $312 million, and Cregger’s biggest to date, ahead of Weapons at $270 million. Variety lists China ($71.4 million), the UK ($19.4 million) and Mexico ($12.7 million) as the top overseas markets.
It started strongly too. The film opened to $108.3 million worldwide against a reported $75 million budget, and it has kept earning since; we tracked it passing $360 million at five weekends. Critics have been kind as well: IGN gave it 8/10, and it became Rotten Tomatoes’ highest-rated video game movie.
What comes next for Cregger
A hit of this size would normally point to a sequel, but nothing is confirmed. Cregger has floated ideas for a follow-up while also saying he’s wary of carrying an existing IP. On the podcast he kept the door open with “never say never”, and, according to GameSpot, said that after Barbarian and Weapons he feels he’s “playing with house money”.
His next project is original. IGN reports he’s working on The Flood, a sci-fi thriller he’s writing, producing and directing, starring Jennifer Lawrence, due on 11 August 2028.
Has a Resident Evil sequel been announced?
No. Cregger has talked about sequel ideas, but IGN says he has also suggested he’s not keen on carrying the weight of an existing IP, and no studio announcement has followed.
How much has Cregger’s Resident Evil earned?
Variety reports $400 million worldwide, made up of $157.399 million in North America and $242.6 million overseas. That tops every earlier film in the franchise and Cregger’s own Weapons.
What is Cregger directing next?
The Flood, an original sci-fi thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence. IGN gives its release date as 11 August 2028.
