Resident Evil: Afterlife Box Office: Milla Jovovich Back on (a Wobbly) Top

Resident Evil: Afterlife with Milla Jovovich. Despised by critics, the fourth installment in the popular action-horror franchise – and the first in 3D – was the no. 1 movie on the domestic box office chart this past weekend.

Resident Evil: Afterlife box office: Milla Jovovich back atop the domestic box office chart with critically excoriated 3D horror/action sequel

Sept. 10–12 weekend box office: Directed and written by Paul W.S. Anderson; starring his wife, Milla Jovovich; and providing further evidence that North American (U.S. and Canada) moviegoers (and those elsewhere, for that matter; see further below) are hungry for original, quality fare, the Screen Gems release Resident Evil: Afterlife easily topped the domestic box office chart this past weekend.

Admittedly, as per boxofficemojo.com this critically lambasted fourth installment in the video-game-based horror/action Resident Evil franchise – and the first title in 3D – grossed a relatively tepid $26.7 million from 3,203 theaters ($8,320 average), including around 2,000 3D screens and 164 IMAX screens.

On a weak weekend, that was more than enough for Resident Evil: Afterlife to beat its nearest competitor, John Luessenhop’s heist thriller Takers, another Screen Gems release that earned $5.8 million on its third weekend out (cume: $47.7 million).

Afterlife vs. previous Resident Evil movies

Largely due to ticket-price increases and 3D/IMAX surcharges, Resident Evil: Afterlife – budget: $60 million (as always, not including marketing and distribution expenses) – had a stronger debut than its predecessors, all written by Anderson (who also directed the first installment) and starring Jovovich. Resident Evil brought in $17.7 million in 2002, Alexander Witt’s Resident Evil: Apocalypse $23 million in 2004, and Russell Mulcahy’s Resident Evil: Extinction $23.7 million in 2007.

As indicated by the figures above, the U.S. and Canada market remained flat for the last two titles: Apocalypse ended its run with $51.2 million; Extinction with $50.6 million. (The original took in $40.1 million.)

On the other hand, each subsequent Resident Evil movie generated increased revenues overseas: $62.9 million for the 2002 original, $78.1 million for Apocalypse, $97.1 million for Extinction.

So, if you’ve been wondering why Milla Jovovich’s anti-Umbrella Corporation fighter keeps coming back every few years, you got your answer: International moviegoers. Indeed, the universe has countless mysteries, but one thing is all but certain: A fifth Resident Evil entry, which will offer global audiences the intelligent and innovative moviemaking they crave.

Besides Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil: Afterlife also features Ali Larter, Sienna Guillory, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Wentworth Miller, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Spencer Locke, and Boris Kodjoe.

Two more franchise entries starring Milla Jovovich

Update: Resident Evil: Afterlife ultimately collected a so-so $60.1 million domestically and a whopping $240.1 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $300.2 million.

Its top international markets were: Japan ($55.1 million), China ($21.6 million), Russia/CIS ($19.7 million), Germany ($16.1 million; the franchise’s key production company, Constantin Film, is based in Munich), South Korea ($13 million), Mexico ($11.1 million), Brazil ($9.5 million), and France ($9 million).

All but inevitably, Resident Evil: Afterlife has been followed by two other entries, both directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and featuring Milla Jovovich: Resident Evil: Retribution ($240.2 million worldwide in 2012) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($312.2 million worldwide in 2016–17).

“Resident Evil: Afterlife Box Office: Milla Jovovich” endnotes

Unless otherwise noted, “Resident Evil: Afterlife Box Office: Milla Jovovich Back on (a Wobbly) Top” box office information via Box Office Mojo. Budget info – which should be taken with a grain of salt – via BOM and/or other sources (e.g., the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline.com, etc.).

Comments about Resident Evil: Afterlife and other titles being hits/profitable or flops/money-losers at the box office (see paragraph below) are based on the available data about their production budget, additional marketing and distribution expenses (as a general rule of thumb, around 50 percent of the production cost), and worldwide gross (as a general rule of thumb when it comes to the Hollywood studios, around 50–55 percent of the domestic gross and 40 percent of the international gross goes to the distributing/producing companies).

Bear in mind that data regarding rebates, domestic/international sales/pre-sales, and other credits and/or contractual details that help to alleviate/split production costs and apportion revenues are oftentimes unavailable, and that reported international grosses may be incomplete (i.e., not every territory is fully – or even partially – accounted for).

Also bear in mind that ancillary revenues (domestic/global television rights, home video sales, streaming, merchandising, etc.) can represent anywhere between 40–70 percent of a movie’s total take. However, these revenues and their apportionment are only infrequently made public.

Milla Jovovich Resident Evil: Afterlife movie image: RAFY | Constantin Film International GmbH & Davis Films | Impact Pictures | Screen Gems | Sony Pictures.

“Resident Evil: Afterlife Box Office: Milla Jovovich Back on (a Wobbly) Top” last updated in October 2022.