Unofficial fan project — not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Capcom Co., Ltd. or Sony Pictures. Resident Evil and all related marks are trademarks of their respective owners.
Content note — the film covered here is rated R (strong bloody violence, gore and language throughout). This page discusses that content and is not intended for young readers. Parental guidance advised.
INTEL FILE — LIVE-ACTION REBOOT
RESIDENT EVIL MOVIE (2026)
Everything about Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot — the September 2026 theatrical release known as Noche Cero in Spanish-speaking markets. Release dates, showtimes, cast, box office, and how it connects to the games. No prior movies required: this is a clean reboot.
SECTION 01
01What Is the 2026 Resident Evil Movie?
Resident Evil (2026) is a live-action survival horror film directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons), co-written with Shay Hatten, and produced by Columbia Pictures, Constantin Film, PlayStation Productions, Vertigo Entertainment, and Davis Films. It is a full franchise reboot — none of the previous film continuities carry over, and no game characters take the lead.
The story follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier taking a last-minute delivery to Raccoon General Hospital on the worst possible night: the immediate aftermath of the Umbrella lab accident that unleashes the outbreak. The film runs roughly in near-real time across one fateful night — the "zero night" that gives the film its Spanish-market title.
Cregger's stated approach: recreate the feeling of playing the original survival horror games — scarce ammo, clumsy first-time gun handling, typewriter save points, green herbs, and locks that need keys. First-person shots and inventory-style framing put you inside the game's language without being a video game.
The film is set alongside the events of Resident Evil 2 (1998) in Raccoon City, but Bryan is an original character. Cregger's stated position was that he was not going to retell Leon's story, because the games already tell it.
SECTION 02
02Release Dates & Showtimes
Released by Sony Pictures. Theatrical run began mid-September 2026; check your local listings for remaining showtimes and IMAX screens — the film was shot for IMAX and premium formats are the recommended way to see it.
| Market | Date | Local Title | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 18, 2026 | Resident Evil | Sony Pictures (Wide + IMAX) |
| Italy / France | September 16, 2026 | Resident Evil | Sony Pictures |
| Mexico / Latin America | September 16–17, 2026 | Resident Evil: Noche Cero | Sony Pictures |
| Spain | September 18, 2026 | Resident Evil: Noche Cero | Sony Pictures |
| Chile / Ecuador / Uruguay | September 17, 2026 | Resident Evil: Noche Cero | Sony Pictures |
| South Korea | September 17, 2026 | 레지던트 이블: 0번째 밤 (Zero Night) | Sony Pictures |
| Los Angeles Premiere | September 15, 2026 | — | — |
In Spanish-speaking markets the film is titled Resident Evil: Noche Cero ("Zero Night") — ground zero of the outbreak, the single winter night where everything collapses. Same movie, regional title strategy. Searching resident evil noche cero or resident evil pelicula? This is the film you're looking for.
SECTION 03
03Cast & Characters
| Actor | Role | Where You Know Them |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Abrams | Bryan — medical courier, protagonist | Euphoria, The Walking Dead, Dash & Lily |
| Zach Cherry | Carl | Severance, Shang-Chi |
| Kali Reis | Maxine — Umbrella employee | True Detective: Night Country, Catch the Fair One |
| Paul Walter Hauser | Paul — Umbrella employee | Richard Jewell, I, Tonya, The Fantastic Four |
| Johnno Wilson | Deputy Wilson | — |
| Sara Paxton / Will Merrick / Griffin Newman | Supporting roles | — |
Behind the camera: cinematography by Dariusz Wolski (longtime collaborator of Ridley Scott), score by the Holladay brothers, and production spanning five studios — the tangled Resident Evil film rights (Constantin Film) now sit alongside PlayStation Productions' first-party IP push.
SECTION 04
04Box Office Performance
The reboot opened #1 domestically with $60.15M across 3,684 theaters — more than half of the entire weekend's ticket sales — and posted $108.3M worldwide on its opening weekend, climbing to $118.8M cumulative by September 24, against a $75M budget. For context, that debut beat the opening weekend of every previous Resident Evil film.
The front-loaded curve is classic horror, but the win matters beyond the number: video-game adaptations have historically been unreliable, and this gave Sony/PlayStation Productions a clean proof that a reboot without legacy cast can still open big.
- SOURCES — BOX OFFICE & RELEASE DATA
- “Resident Evil Bites Off $60M at Box Office for Zach Cregger’s Biggest Opening Yet”[N]. The Hollywood Reporter, 2026-09-21. hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/resident-evil-box-office-zach-cregger-reboot-1236706041 [cited 2026-09-25].
- “Weekend Box Office: Resident Evil Sets Franchise Record With $60M”[EB/OL]. FilmDB, 2026-09-21. filmdb.co.uk/box-office/blog/weekend-box-office-september-18-20-2026 [cited 2026-09-25].
- “Resident Evil Reboot Opens at $60 Million, the Biggest Debut in Franchise History”[EB/OL]. Comic Book Co, 2026-09-21. comicbookco.com/movies/movie-news/resident-evil-reboot-record-box-office-opening [cited 2026-09-25].
- “New Resident Evil film receives subtitle Noche Cero in the Latin market”[EB/OL]. Mix Vale, 2026-05-25. mixvale.com.br — Noche Cero regional title [cited 2026-09-25].
- “Resident Evil: Noche Cero, cuándo se estrena en México”[EB/OL]. AS México, 2026-09-16. mexico.as.com — Mexico release, 16 September, IMAX [cited 2026-09-25].
- “Resident Evil: Noche Cero Gets a Macro XE Poster for Mexico”[EB/OL]. FilmoFilia, 2026-09. filmofilia.com/resident-evil-macro-xe-poster-tilted-road-227367 [cited 2026-09-25].
- Review aggregates: Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, snapshot 2026-09-25.
SECTION 05
05How It Connects to the Games
Spoiler-free version: the film is a companion piece to Resident Evil 2, happening in the same city, on the same outbreak night, one street over from Leon and Claire's story. It's designed so you need zero franchise homework.
Spoiler: the ending & game references, explained
The package. Bryan's delivery is a stabilizer needed to synthesize a cure — a classic RE MacGuffin structure (RE2's vaccine, RE3's vaccine synthesis).
Body-horror fusion. Corpses fusing via tentacles echoes the G-virus embryos and anomalies from the games' lab sequences; the sewers rat-swarm monster is pure RE laboratory grotesque.
Game-feel references fans caught: green herbs, the typewriter save animation, first-person aim wobble (Bryan has never held a gun — like your first RE playthrough), inventory-style item pickup, and lock-and-key progression. The maternity-ward sequence is being called the film's scariest set piece.
SECTION 06
06FAQ
Is the 2026 Resident Evil movie a sequel or a reboot?
A full reboot. It shares nothing with the Milla Jovovich series (2002–2016) or 2021's Welcome to Raccoon City. New continuity, new cast, new story.
Do I need to play the games first?
No. It's written as an entry point — original protagonist, self-contained night-one story. Fans get extra layers (Raccoon City, Umbrella, herbs, typewriters), newcomers lose nothing.
Is it streaming? Where can I watch it?
It's currently in theaters only (released September 18, 2026 by Sony). Streaming/Home-video windows haven't been announced yet — as a Sony/Columbia title, expect Netflix-international and a digital rental window in the months after theatrical.
Is Resident Evil 2026 kid-friendly?
No. It's rated R for strong bloody violence, gore and language throughout. This is the first mainline RE film to embrace the games' survival-horror tone fully.
Is Leon in the movie?
No game characters appear as leads, by design. Leon S. Kennedy is busy elsewhere — see Resident Evil Requiem, where he co-stars with Grace Ashcroft.
How scary / how gory is it compared to the games?
Reviewers describe it as the games' tension translated to film — dread over jump-scare spam, with heavy body horror in the back half. If the games' lab sections got to you, the maternity ward sequence will too.
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