Zach Cregger's new Resident Evil film appears to be exactly the shot in the arm the IP needed. Data from Alinea Analytics now confirms this: as the film premiered this month, Capcom launched a well-timed discount campaign, leading to a significant surge in sales for multiple Resident Evil titles, with the most notable increases seen on the PS5 platform. While Capcom's discounts were certainly a driving factor, Austin Abrams' iconic screaming scene in the film also fueled sales.
Rhys Elliott, Head of Market Analysis at Alinea, explained in a September 25 Substack column that Cregger's gritty Resident Evil film, which follows a medical courier (played by Abrams) who accidentally enters Raccoon City after dark, achieved "the best opening weekend in the 24-year history of Resident Evil films." With a 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it is currently the best-reviewed video game adaptation. The hype surrounding this blockbuster also spilled over into gaming, boosting sales for the remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4.
After excluding the impact of Capcom's series-wide discounts, data shows that Craig's film directly drove a 64% and 54% increase in PS5 sales for the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 remakes, respectively.
Elliott remarked, "On Steam, the film's driving effect was much more moderate, with increases ranging only between 11% and 14%."
In terms of player count (including returning veterans drawn back by the film's release), Elliott noted that the daily active user (DAU) count for Resident Evil 2 Remake across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC surged by 48%, climbing from approximately 78,000 to nearly 116,000. The game also saw significant discounts, dropping from its original price of $39.99 to just $7.99.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Craig stated that his Resident Evil film does not feature any characters from the games. The story takes place on the "fringes" of the T-virus outbreak depicted in Resident Evil 2, making it logical that Resident Evil 2 Remake benefited the most. Elliott added that sales of the 2019 remake on the PS5 platform "nearly doubled."
Meanwhile, the DAU count for Resident Evil 3 Remake rose by 25%, and for Resident Evil 4 Remake by 24%. The newer title, Resident Evil: Requiem, saw a relatively smaller increase, with its DAU growing by only 20% under the combined effect of the film's hype and discount promotions. However, the game didn't really need this boost—Elliott stated, "In terms of revenue, Requiem has already outperformed all other entries in the series. Once all figures are finalized, its income will definitely surpass the over $600 million earned by Resident Evil 4 Remake."
Elliott cautioned, "Almost all of the sales growth was concentrated on the PlayStation platform." Resident Evil players seem indifferent to Steam points rewards, or perhaps the horror series has simply maintained a deep connection with PlayStation since its inception in 1998. Nevertheless, now that the Resident Evil series finally has a film that can make audiences laugh out loud while also gripping their popcorn buckets in tension, it's hard to say what further surprises this IP might bring in the future.