When it comes to unlikely long-term franchises, it’s hard to think of a better recent example than Resident Evil.
With the latest – and purportedly last – installment in the Alice saga, titled Resident Evil: The Final Chapter , hitting U.S. theaters as of Friday, Deadline reports that the often divisive franchise is poised to pass a significant financial milestone this weekend.
Based – albeit very loosely – on the blockbuster survival horror video game series of the same name, the Resident Evil movies have managed to overcome critical drubbing after critical drubbing, quietly racking up profits along the way.
Despite these issues – and a 34 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes – Resident Evil became big business very fast, earning over $100 million worldwide on a budget of only $33 million.