“Resident Evil” exceeded US expectations this past weekend, and it’s also impressed at the Australian box office.
The reboot of the famous video game horror franchise raked in $3.7 million across 389 cinemas around the country, topping the weekend list.
Zach Cregger’s film knocked last week’s No. 1 film, “Practical Magic 2,” down to No. 2. which pulled in another $1.3 million.
Variety gave “Resident Evil” a positive review, calling it “funky monster fun.”
“[Cregger’s] new ‘Resident Evil’ is different, and much better, than the other ‘Resident Evil’ movies — it’s a creepy-crawly squishfest that takes its time and has a weird innocence about it (at moments it reminded me of ‘Planet Terror’)” it reads.
“Cregger doesn’t stage it in the usual ‘relentless’ video-game-movie style. He works in a more ambling and naturalistic way, and that’s there from the opening shot, as the camera follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier, into the hospital where he’s dropping off a vital organ, and he’s then handed another, even more important Schedule A package (he presumes that it’s a human heart, or something of that magnitude) to take to a hospital up in the mountains.”
The biggest entry, however, was Sunday night’s John Farnham tribute concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Hoyts announced earlier this month that the concert would be beamed into its cinemas nationwide, and it pulled in some massive numbers across just 50 screens.
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“The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert” posted an incredible $1.2 million at the box office and came in at third overall.
Elsewhere, “The Odyssey” stayed strong at No. 4, pulling in another $812,000 in its tenth week, “Coyote vs Acme” debuted at No. 5 with $800,000, and 2026’s biggest film in Australia, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” came in at No. 6 in its eighth week, bringing its overall total to almost $87 million.
The only other debuts this week include Universal’s “Forgotten Island” ($651,000) and “Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom” ($189,000).