Weekend Preview: Will ‘Resident Evil’ Rely on Video Game or Legacy Franchise Audiences?

Like 2025, this year will see a horror movie become the first heavy hitter of September, and potentially own the highest box office opening until the Thanksgiving window. Last year, The Conjuring: Last Rites ($84 million opening) broke franchise records by rallying horror fans of all ages for its concluding chapter. For 2026, Sony’s Resident Evil hopes to likewise recruit horror and video game fans that turned Weapons ($43.5 million), both Five Nights at Freddy’s films ($80 million and $64 million),, and Backrooms ($81.4 million) into successes. For Resident Evil to match the highs of its video game horror audience counterparts, it will need to replicate the same video game audience structure. But if its audience is actually closer to franchise horror or legacy franchise norms, could that still be enough to power it to a similar victory?

Resident Evil shows strong metrics heading into opening weekend, nearly hitting the standards seen in most $50 million-plus openers. High awareness (~59%), Interest (~51%), and Theatrical Intent (~44%) among the general public bodes well. Not only is Resident Evil significantly ahead of director Zach Cregger’s last original horror hit Weapons, but its Interest and Intent is significantly ahead of video game horror Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Backrooms (Backrooms, although not based on a video game, had an audience with a nearly identical makeup to the FNAF franchise). But, taking a step back from a general metrics comparison shows that the same exact video game audience may not actually be the one that Resident Evil ultimately turns out.

Overall metrics for Resident Evil more closely resemble the audiences for more legacy franchises films. General audience awareness, interest, and intent actually nearly match The Conjuring: Last Rites except for Resident Evil’s additional support base: Men over 35. With inflated interest and intent among men over 35, this zombie movie’s strongest specific horror audience demo is nearly identical to Scream 7 ($63.6 million). Both franchises (film, video game or otherwise) are now thirty years old. Similarly, following this legacy audience path, Resident Evil’s also bears a striking resemblance to Mortal Kombat II ($38.5 million), although it boasts significantly higher interest with women under 35.

But Resident Evil’s audience is not necessarily set in stone from topline metric similarities alone. Looking into the opening weekend intent of audiences under 25—the main target for the video game horror audience—Resident Evil shows potential beyond the scopes of Scream 7 and Mortal Kombat II. Its opening weekend intent hovers far above either film for men under 25 and especially casual moviegoing men under 25. Concerningly, metrics among women under 25 do trail significantly behind men under 25, as was the case with Mortal Kombat II. But women under 25 match almost identically to Weapons, a good sign that the latter’s fans among this demo are ready for more from Cregger specifically. 

Looking into the opening weekend intent among audiences 25-44, the target audiences for legacy franchises, reveals the same legacy audience pattern once again. Rather than matching the patterns seen in the video game horror audiences, Resident Evil’s 25-44 opening weekend intent for both men and women more closely resembles The Conjuring: Last Rites, Mortal Kombat II, and Scream 7. 

Resident Evil seeks to build upon the legacy franchise audience base with the video game horror audience. With overall metrics more closely resembling legacy franchise audiences like Mortal Kombat II and Scream 7, Resident Evil’s core audience is locked in with intent far beyond Weapons. For its overperformance potential beyond Weapons (Scream 7, or even higher) the film will need that same video game horror audience that propelled Backrooms and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Although not quite matching the highs among women under 25 that either film hit on their opening weeks, Resident Evil’s overly enthusiastic men under 25 intent gives it the boost it needs to be the next video game-based hit.