It may not be known for its quality, but you can't say that the Resident Evil franchise isn't lucrative. Despite consistently poor reviews, the franchise has always performed well enough at the box office to warrant a sequel, but now we've reached the last installment. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter opened domestically this weekend, and in addition to its performance overseas, the sixth and final film in the series has pushed the franchise to a box office landmark. The Resident Evil franchise is poised to make over $1 billion.
According to reports from Deadline, the Resident Evil franchise is in the position to gross over $1 billion thanks to efforts spread out over six films. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter will close out the saga with a bang, pushing the series past the coveted box office landmark. The Final Chapter opened number one overseas in Japan on December 23 and has since earned $35 million in the country. Now that the film has opened domestically and in other foreign markets, Sony is projecting that the zombie action flick will bring in $30 million this weekend. That will bring its global total to upwards of $80 million, thus making Resident Evil a billion dollar franchise. Before this weekend the total amount for the franchise was $954 million
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter had the lowest domestic opening of any Resident Evil film, so how exactly did this manage to become a billion dollar franchise? Well, to put it simply, foreign markets. Resident Evil just cleans up overseas. Since 2010' Afterlife and the following Retribution, about 80% of the box office comes from international markets. Video game movies, in general, succeed in these same markets, which also makes Resident Evil the most successful video game movie. Couple that with five years since the last entry in the series and a global marketing campaign to ramp up excitement, and you've got a formula for financial success.
The Final Chapter picks up right after 2012's Retribution, and finds Alice (Milla Jovovich) as the sole survivor of humanity after what was meant to be the final stand against the Umbrella Corporation and their army of the undead. Now she must go back to where it all began -- Raccoon City -- to put a stop to things once and for all. Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts and Iain Glen also return along with newcomers like Ruby Rose, Eoin Macken, and Japanese television personality Rola. Paul W.S. Anderson, who's written all the films in the series, is back in the director's chair for The Final Chapter.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is in theaters right now, and if all goes as planned this weekend, it'll become a billion dollar franchise.
