Resident Evil is now No. 1 on Rotten Tomatoes’ ranking of video game movies. The film’s main page showed a 97% Tomatometer score from 143 critic reviews on September 18. The site’s ranked guide displayed 96% during the same check, but both pages placed the movie first.
Zach Cregger’s film is at least 10 points ahead of the previous leaders. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Werewolves Within each sit at 86% on the ranking.
What record did Resident Evil break?
Rotten Tomatoes ranks theatrical video game movies with at least 20 reviews. Resident Evil currently leads that list, making it the site’s best-reviewed movie based on a game.
The Tomatometer measures how many counted reviews are positive. A 97% score does not mean the average critic gave the film 9.7 out of 10; it means 97% of the reviews on its main page were classified as positive.
The result also ends a much rougher run for Resident Evil on film. Before this release, The Final Chapter had the franchise’s highest movie score at 39%. Welcome to Raccoon City sits at 30%.
Why are critics responding so well?
The most common praise covers four specific choices: the 90-minute runtime, Austin Abrams’ performance as Bryan, the balance between gore and dark humor, and a structure that resembles moving through a survival-horror game.
Bryan enters new locations, finds weapons and supplies, and faces a different problem in each area. The movie uses that rhythm without turning the story into a direct replay of an existing campaign.
Does the movie copy Resident Evil 2?
No. Bryan is a new medical courier, not a replacement for Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield. His story takes place around the Raccoon City outbreak and uses familiar creatures, locations, healing items and weapons, but follows a separate route through the disaster.
That choice caused plenty of debate before release. The early reviews suggest the movie works because it keeps the games’ survival rules while giving Bryan his own problems to solve.
Who is in Resident Evil?
Austin Abrams leads the cast as Bryan, with Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser in supporting roles. Cregger directed the film and co-wrote it with Shay Hatten.
Resident Evil is rated R and runs for 90 minutes. It opened in U.S. theaters on September 18, 2026.
Our spoiler-free Resident Evil release guide explains Bryan’s setup, the cast and where the movie is playing.
The score can still change as more reviews arrive, but 143 reviews make this far more than a tiny early sample. Resident Evil has already cleared every earlier movie in its own franchise and taken the top spot for video game films.
