Zach Cregger's Resident Evil Movie Officially Breaks All-Time Rotten Tomatoes Record

Zach Cregger has done it again. The director of "Barbarian" and "Weapons" is back with his latest cinematic adventure in the horror realm. This time, he's taking on a beloved franchise with a bold new take on "Resident Evil." So, how did Cregger fare when it came to tackling treasured IP? Pretty well, it turns out. So much so that he now owns the record for the best-reviewed video game movie ever.

As of this writing, Cregger's new "Resident Evil" movie holds a stellar 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 70 reviews counted (including ours). The previous record-holder was "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which /Film called "bigger, bolder, and better than ever" at the time in 2024. It holds a very solid 86% critical approval rating on RT. 

We've come a long way from when "The Angry Birds Movie 2" became the highest-rated video game movie ever, which wasn't saying much. It holds a so-so 72% rating. In recent years, Hollywood really has begun to crack the code on video game adaptations. For decades, these movies just flat out weren't very good. But now, we've got guys like Cregger, who grew up playing and loving these games, actually making the movies. That makes a big difference.

Cregger's "Resident Evil" takes place in the universe of the games, but does not adapt any of them directly. It's a new story, which has been a controversial decision that some fans don't like. But critically, it was evidently the right call. 

The original "Resident Evil" movie beat the video game movie curse and became a bonafide box office hit back in 2002, but it too wasn't directly adapting Capcom's beloved game. It led to a series of sequels that grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, but the series eventually ran out of juice. And, to put it kindly, none of them were heralded by critics.

The highest-rated entry from the franchise previously on Rotten Tomatoes was 2017's "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" at 39%. But that's just where video game movies were stuck for so, so long. Every so often, something good would come along. Josh Ruben's "Werewolves Within" became the best-reviewed video game movie ever for a time, in part because it was a smaller-budget affair with fewer cooks in the kitchen.

What's remarkable is just how long it took for studios to figure out how to satisfy fans of very popular video games with these adaptations. Mercifully, the tide has turned and Zach Cregger is the latest filmmaker to prove that it can be done. If this movie also performs well at the box office (and it's certainly looking like it will), Cregger's reputation for having a golden touch will be truly firmed up.

"Resident Evil" hits theaters on September 18, 2026.