Reception
Resident Evil opened domestically on March 15, 2002 to the #2 spot at the box office. The film grossed $17,707,106 from 2,528 theatres averaging $7,004 per theatre. By the end of its theatrical run, Resident Evil had made $40,119,709 domestically and $102,441,078 world-wide on a $33 million budget. Critically, the film suffered with a 34% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. There were positive reviews however with The Chicago Tribune declaring it "one of the few video game movies to truly re-create the gaming experience" and The Austin Chronicle calling it "an absolute wreck. But what an ambitiously mind-blowing wreck it is, bursting with dazzlingly sordid cinematography".
Resident Evil: Apocalypse debuted at #1 in its opening weekend (September 10–12, 2004) with $23,036,273. Averaging $7,014 at 3,284 theatres, the movie had an increased budget of $45 million and made $129,394,835 world-wide. Similar to the first installment, Apocalypse was not well received by critics. A BBC review noted, "A zombie movie as dead-eyed and soulless as its walking dead villains." Not all reviews were negative, The Seattle Times marked it an improvement from the original, saying the film "makes up for the wretched mess that was 2002's "Resident Evil"".
Resident Evil: Extinction followed the success of the second film opening at #1 during September 21–23, 2007. The film became the second highest grossing movie in the franchise with $147,717,833 world-wide, $97,069,154 of it coming from international territories. As with the first two installments, Extinction was negatively received by critics with a 22% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Empire deemed it "Better than the silly second instalment and boasting an effectively creepy empty world setting, it’s nevertheless scuppered by a lack of coherence." The Hollywood Reporter also gave a positive review of the film, "Fast-paced and filled with brisk action sequences -- the film should reasonably satisfy the devotees."
Resident Evil: Afterlife opened in theatres September 10, 2010 to $26.7 million, setting a franchise record for highest domestic opening weekend and becoming the eighth highest September opening of all time. Afterlife scored the least-attended debut of the series and its large opening weekend tally was due to the higher ticket prices for 3D. Overseas, the fourth installment grossed $42.7 million from 3,971 screens in 34 markets, earning another franchise record. In total, the film earned $73.2 million worldwide in its opening weekend and stayed at the top of the international box office for four consecutive weeks. Resident Evil: Afterlife made $296,221,663 at the end of its theatrical run. Critically, the film was on par with its predecessors. On Rotten Tomatoes, 24% of 87 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 4.1 out of 10. Michael Ordoña of The Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, claiming that "the action is easier to read than in most films of the genre, and therefore more enjoyable. Anderson makes particular use of sets and locations to wring out more bang for the stereoscopic buck." Kim Newman of Empire Magazine was less enthusiastic about the movie giving Afterlife two stars out of a possible five, stating "What fun there is to be had is undermined by drab 3D, hacked-out dialogue and rehashed plots."
Resident Evil: Retribution opened in 2,012 theaters on September 14, 2012 to a weekend gross of $21,052,227, the second lowest opening in the franchise after the first film. However, it had already grossed $50,000,000 worldwide in the Far East and Russia. It held the #1 spot at the box office against the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo and eventually grossed well over double its $65,000,000 budget. Like the other installments in the franchise, it has received mostly negative reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 31% "rotten" rating and Metacritic giving it a similar score of 39, while IGN gave it a more favorable rating of 6.0.
The series holds the record for the "Most Live-Action Film Adaptations of a Videogame" in the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, which also described it as "the most successful movie series to be based on a videogame."
Read more about this topic: Resident Evil Films
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“But in the reception of metaphysical formula, all depends, as regards their actual and ulterior result, on the pre-existent qualities of that soil of human nature into which they fall—the company they find already present there, on their admission into the house of thought.”
—Walter Pater (1839–1894)
“To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)