'Resident Evil' Earns Extra Life with Fourth Movie
by Brandon Gray --- September 12, 2010
Resident Evil: Afterlife was the only new game in town and easily dominated the weekend box office, logging the seventh highest-grossing September opening ever. Not much else was going on below it, and overall business was typically quiet for the post-Labor Day session and down around 13 percent from the same weekend last year, when there were four new releases, led by I Can Do Bad All By Myself.
Striking on approximately 4,700 screens at 3,203 locations, Resident Evil: Afterlife racked up an estimated $27.7 million. That was the highest-grossing opening weekend yet for the Resident Evil franchise, topping the $23.7 million of the last movie, Resident Evil: Extinction. However, in terms of estimated attendance, Afterlife likely ranked last and slightly behind the first movie: Afterlife only seemed more popular due to general ticket price inflation and the movie's premium for the 3D illusion. 2,062 venues showed the picture in regular 3D, while it ran in IMAX 3D at another 141 venues (Distributor Sony Pictures claims that an accurate 3D breakdown won't be available until Monday).
Still, to have the fourth movie be in the same league as its predecessors is indicative of the franchise's consistent appeal, and the marketing mostly relied on that appeal and 3D to sell the picture, offering nothing new in terms of story, character, action or visuals. Sony's exit polling indicated that 58 percent of the audience was male, while 49 percent was under 25 years old.
Takers took a standard hit (down 44 percent), which was small enough for the heist thriller to move up to second place. It made an estimated $6.1 million and has hauled in $48.1 million in 17 days, edging out Dead Presidents in estimated attendance.
Falling 55 percent, The American got plugged in its second weekend, grossing an estimated $5.9 milliion for a $26.7 million tally in 19 days. The George Clooney vehicle's drop was steep for an adult thriller, though a number of recent titles have taken similar plunges, including Green Zone, Edge of Darkness and The Men Who Stare at Goats.
Machete bled 63 percent to an estimated $6.2 million, holding about as well as its source movie, Grindhouse, but has grossed more through the same point with $20.8 million in ten days. Its decline was also in line with Gamer and Crank: High Voltage.
Dipping 44 percent to an estimated $3.8 million, Going the Distance held the best among last weekend's new releases, but that's little consolation considering its puny $14 million tally in ten days.
Meanwhile, The Other Guys and Inception continued to hold steady. Other Guys eased 32 percent to an estimated $3.6 million, lifting its total to $112.7 million in 38 days. Inception descended 34 percent to an estimated $3 million, increasing its sum to a mighty $282.4 million in 57 days. In the process, it surpassed the final gross of The Matrix Reloaded, although it doesn't stand a chance at cracking that picture's attendance level.
