All was deathly quiet at the cineplex. Wind whistled through the box office. Tumbleweeds slowly trundled through the concession stand, branches sweeping up long-forgotten puddles of faux butter as they rolled toward the exits.
And then, from underneath the theater’s matted carpet, something claws its way upward, moaning piteously as it makes its way from under the earth to walk on solid ground again. What fresh terror is this? Is it—no, it couldn’t … but yes, yes it is! The zombified Resident Evil series has been itself reanimated, shambling into theaters for the fourth time, showing the world once again that the hardest thing to kill is a reasonably successful video game franchise. The horror! The horror!
Resident Evil: Afterlife chewed up everything in its path, gobbling up $27.7 million this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. The competition, such as it was, never had a chance. Takers? A distant second with $6.1 million. The American? A measly $5.9 million for third. Machete? Don’t make me laugh. In just its second week, the bloody satire hacked its way to a mere $4.2 million, which suggests we won’t be subjected to Machete II: Blade of Reckoning anytime soon.
Afterlife actually outearned the next six movies combined. Which just shows that it’s hard to keep a “good” zombie flick down—particularly when it’s the only new movie in theaters.
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