Horror kept delivering at the box office, as Zach Cregger's take on Resident Evil posted an incredibly strong start around the world. And after a very muted start last week, Practical Magic 2 sealed its fate with a very rough second weekend drop. But the real story was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which dethroned The Force Awakens as the biggest domestic release.

The Top 10 earned a combined $101.7 million this weekend. That's up a massive 55.7% from last year, when Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle repeated atop while Him disappointed.

Debuting at #1, Sony's Resident Evil opened with a fantastic $60.1 million in 3,684 theaters. That's director Zach Cregger's biggest ever debut, above Weapons ($43.5 million) and Barbarian ($10.5 million). And not only was it the biggest debut for a Resident Evil film, but it already overtook Resident Evil: Afterlife (with a difference of just $24,312) as the biggest title already.

The Resident Evil franchise was a noted moneymaker, but mostly on the overseas side. If you look at the domestic grosses, the franchise tapped out at $60.1 million with Afterlife. So how could the new installment could pretty much make this amount of money on just its first weekend?

Sony didn't position the film as an action or small-scale film. They heavily pushed the film, as a mid-sized horror blockbuster. The focus was just on the lead character trying to make his way out of Raccoon City, while chased by mutated zombies. It managed to capture the horror elements that were hardly explored in the prior films, as they tended to focus on action instead.

But perhaps the big draw isn't the IP, but the man who helms the IP. Cregger quickly made a name for himself with Barbarian, but Weapons cemented his status as a new draw for audiences. That film opened highly and legged out, while earning very positive reception. So Resident Evil benefitted from snatching one of the most notable directors working today, and luckily it was released just 13 months after Weapons came out, striking while iron was hot.

The film earned a mixed response from fans over the past months, mainly because the film didn't adapt any of the games nor would feature any of the characters, opting for an original story. But it was all for nothing; it's sitting at a fantastic 96% on RT and 81 on Metacritic, which is a record for a video game film. So it's something that could get fans, but also attract casuals who never played a game but wanted a spooky film.

According to Sony, 66% of the audience was male, and 64% was 25 and over. Even with some concerns that the film would lose potential game fans, it was reported that 36% of the audience played at least one game. An estimated 37% said they watched the film because of Cregger, further showing his name carries a lot of weight.

Audiences gave the film a "B+" on CinemaScore. That's below Weapons (A–), but it's a good grade for horror; it's notably higher than all the prior Resident Evil films. Even with some horror competition in October, it's unlikely any of them open higher than Resident Evil. For now, it should reach $150 million domestically. Another easy win for Cregger, who already has his next original, The Flood, set for August 2027.

Last week's champ Practical Magic 2 added $12.1 million on its second weekend. That's down a very bad 59%, and it's steeper than recent legacy sequels like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (54%), Blade Runner 2049 (53%) and The Devil Wears Prada 2 (46%). The drop is not completely surprising; word of mouth was very mixed, and it only appealed to the most diehard fans of the original.

Through 10 days, Practical Magic 2 has earned a disappointing $50 million. While it passed the original's domestic gross ($46.7 million), it's way behind it adjusted for inflation ($96 million). With such a rough drop, and more options for female audiences coming up, it doesn't look like it will hold on well to make it to Halloween. It looks like Practical Magic 2 will finish with a little above $70 million domestically, which means it'll have lower attendance than the 1998 original. And given its very bad numbers overseas, it looks like WB will extend its flop streak. And so, they remain the only big studio without a $100 million grosser.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day added $6.4 million, which was off just 24% from last week. And with $944.4 million, it officially dethroned The Force Awakens ($936 million) to become the biggest domestic release of all time. Obviously, in terms of ticket sales, The Force Awakens is far ahead of Spidey by a wide margin. As the film is slowing down, look for it to finish with around $965 million domestically.

The Odyssey dropped 35%, earning $4.9 million this weekend. A pretty great drop, considering it lost IMAX screens to Resident Evil. It's currently at $609.8 million domestically, and it's still aiming to hit $630 million.

Coyote vs. Acme eased 31%, for a $4.4 million weekend. The film has earned $54.7 million, and it's set to take a big hit with Forgotten Island opening this weekend.

Daniel and the Fiery Furnace debuted in seventh place with $3.3 million in 1,525 theaters.

Angel Studios' Runner dropped 53%, adding $3 million. Through 10 days, it has amassed $11.8 million.

Fathom Events re-released The Transformers: The Movie for its 40th anniversary, and it earned $3.1 million ($4.1 million including its Thursday numbers). That takes its lifetime gross to $10 million domestically.

In ninth place, Vertical's The Weight, starring Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, tanked with just $2.3 million in 1,504 theaters.

Rounding out the Top 10 was the sleeper hit Buddy, which held very well despite the arrival of Resident Evil. It dropped just 46%, adding $1.9 million. The film's domestic total stands at $24.8 million.

Debuting in eleventh place, GKids' Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom was released in 2,183 theaters, but it made just $1.9 million. That's an abysmal $872 per-theater average. Despite critical acclaim, the franchise was never strong in North America.

Insidious: Out of the Further dropped 46%, earning $1.8 million. That takes the domestic total to $63.7 million.

The Uprising collapsed a steep 64%, making just $1.2 million on its second weekend. With just $5.7 million, it doesn't look like it might reach $7 million. Hope was also dropped off, as it fell 69% for just $1 million. Through 10 days, it earned $7.2 million domestically.

Magnolia Pictures released John Wilson's documentary The History of Concrete in one single theater (New York's IFC Center), and posted an incredibly strong $90,892. That's the second-highest weekend gross in the theater’s 21-year history after only Parasite ($119K). Nearly every available ticket sold for the entire weekend, including for shows added Saturday afternoon for last night and today. Magnolia Pictures plans to expand it over the next few weeks.

OVERSEAS

Resident Evil debuted with a healthy $46.4 million overseas, for a fantastic $106.5 million worldwide start. That's a record for both Cregger and the Resident Evil franchise, and it's the second biggest for a horror this year, behind Backrooms ($118 million).

The biggest debuts were in the UK ($5.8M), Mexico ($5.6M), France ($2.6M), Australia ($2.6M), Germany ($2.5M), Spain ($2.3M), Brazil ($2.0M), Italy ($1.7M), Saudi Arabia ($1.6M), UAE ($1.4M), Indonesia ($1.4M), Malaysia ($1.3M), Taiwan ($1.2M), the Philippines ($1.2M), and India ($1.1M). In most of these markets, it opened higher than any other Resident Evil title.

The film is carrying a hefty $75 million budget, and it should have no trouble in recouping it. And with big markets like China and Japan still yet to open, it should easily become Cregger's highest-grossing film, passing Weapons ($270 million). Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is the highest-grossing film in the franchise with $312 million worldwide (that includes a colossal $159 million from China alone), and Cregger's reboot has a chance in passing those figures.

The Odyssey added $16.7 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to $1.721 billion. In a few weeks, it should finally crack $1.8 billion.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day added $10.8 million overseas, for a $2.478 billion worldwide total.

There's no magic left in Practical Magic 2. It added $7 million overseas, which is a steep 57% from its already soft debut, taking its worldwide total to a very weak $76.8 million. Given it opened in pretty much every major market, it looks like the film might tap out with $110 million worldwide at best. Given its $75 million budget and aggressive marketing campaign, this can now be written off as a flop. And unfortunately, that extends Sandra Bullock's sequel track record to 0 out of 3.

It took a long, long time. But A24's Backrooms has finally crossed $400 million worldwide. The biggest markets for the film are China ($27.8 million), Mexico ($17.8 million), the UK ($17.6 million), Australia ($12.3 million) and France ($12.2 million).

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

• What can I say except… no thanks. Disney's live-action remake of Moana has ended its run with a pathetic $126 million domestically and $322 million worldwide. With a reported $250 million budget, it's not just one of the biggest flops of the year, but of all time. Even by their standards, the film did so many things wrong that it scared away audiences. And the decision to make a live-action remake when the original is just a few months away from turning 10 years old is quite a choice. A choice that will follow Disney and Dwayne Johnson, as they reasses what kind of draw they actually have.

THIS WEEKEND

It's going to be a very busy weekend, with three wide releases competing to take the top spot from Resident Evil.

Universal is releasing DreamWorks Animation's Forgotten Island, following two childhood friends who become trapped in the mystical world of Nakali — which gradually feeds on the memories of those within — where they must escape before they forget about each other. Universal has gave the film a big push, hoping to be a main attraction for families for the rest of the month. Some reviews are out, and it's very positive, so hopefully there's an audience waiting for this in theaters.

Paramount is releasing David Ayer's thriller Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt as a Special Forces officer who must survive the Alaskan wilderness with his dog after a plane crash. Paramount is hoping that Pitt's presence and the premise can draw the older demographic that could give it legs, but don't be surprised if the overseas numbers are better, given Pitt's track record.

But of the weekend's releases, the buzziest title has been A24's Primetime. Lance Oppenheim's narrative feature film debut, it stars Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen, who sets out to make history with his show, To Catch a Predator. The trailers draw a big amount of buzz and views for A24, and the strong reviews (93% on RT) and awards buzz has boosted its awareness. While it's unlikely it can open as high as Backrooms, all signs point to one of A24's biggest ever debuts.

And Disney is also seizing the opportunity to re-release Avengers: Endgame, which includes 2 additional minutes, in the lead-up to Doomsday.

On limited release, Amazon MGM is releasing the thriller Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, starring Mahershala Ali as a devoutly religious hitman who embarks on a desperate journey across Houston to protect his children. The film recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, where it earned high acclaim (100% on RT, 84 on Metacritic). Amazon MGM hopes the film builds some strong buzz before it expands it wide in a few weeks.

STREAMING DATA

Figures for the week of September 7 to September 13 on Netflix:

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Again? topped the Netflix charts with a solid 19.3 million views on its first week.

The Whisper Man added 12.7 million views, taking its 17-day tally to 69.3 million views.

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