Horror movie 'Resident Evil' tops North American box office

LOS ANGELES: “Resident Evil,” a horror movie based on a video game franchise, swept the North American box office with a $60 million opening weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The Sony-distributed movie is directed by Zach Cregger and stars Austin Abrams, who plays a medical courier battling mutant creatures to deliver a package to a remote hospital.

“Resident Evil” displaced last week’s top performer, Warner Bros’ “Practical Magic 2,” a long-awaited sequel starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, into a distant second place.

The story of the modern-day witches, who face a curse that sees any man they fall in love with doomed to an early death, took $12.2 million after last weekend knocking Sony’s “Spider-Man” from its weeks-long perch at the top.

Spidey took another $6.5 million this weekend, bringing its total take in the United States and Canada to $944.5 million. It was followed by another of 2026’s strongest performers, “The Odyssey,” which took $4.9 million.

For the second consecutive weekend, “Coyote vs Acme” took fifth place, with Will Forte and an animated Wile E. Coyote snaring another $4.5 million for Falling Forward Films.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“The Runner” ($3.2 million)

“Daniel and the Fiery Furnace” ($3.1 million)

“Transformers: The Movie” ($3.1 million)

“The Weight” ($2.3 million)

“Buddy” ($1.9 million)