20 Huge Horror Movie Hits NOBODY Expected

Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil films were never embraced by critics, but they do rank among the most commercially successful video game adaptations of all time, with the six-picture franchise rocking over $1.2 billion in box office receipts.

But it definitely seemed like the law of diminishing returns was starting to kick in with the fifth movie, Resident Evil: Retribution, which grossed "only" $240 million worldwide - a fair drop from the $300 million haul of the previous film, Resident Evil: Afterlife.

With the sixth film being dubbed "The Final Chapter" - ever a sign of desperation for a horror franchise - and the marketing selling it more as a Mad Max knock-off than anything resembling Resident Evil, the writing was on the wall for an underperformance. But Anderson's final Resident Evil movie defied the odds, grossing a stonking $312 million, making it the highest-grossing film in the series. 

This was largely attributed to its incredible over-performance in China, where it grossed almost $160 million(!) alone. 

Despite this suggesting the Anderson series still had financial life left in it, the producers nevertheless pressed on with a reboot in 2021, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which flopped. Next up, Weapons director Zach Cregger will be taking a crack at adapting Resident Evil, so it'll be interesting to see if the acclaimed filmmaker can top Anderson at the box office.