Resident Evil on screen is several separate continuities. Paul W. S. Anderson's six films (2002 to 2016) follow Alice in release order; the CG films (Degeneration, Damnation, Vendetta, Death Island and the Infinite Darkness series) follow the game characters; Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) retells the first games; the 2022 Netflix series stands alone; and Zach Cregger's Resident Evil (2026) is a new standalone reboot that needs no earlier film.
- Titles
- 14
- Films
- 12
- Series
- 2
- Watch time
- 28 hours
- Box office
- $1.64 billion
- Avg IMDb
- 5.8
Resident Evil movies in release order
Here is every Resident Evil title in the order it came out, 2002 to 2026: 12 films and 2 series.
| # | Title | Year | Type | Runtime | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resident Evil | 2002 | Film | 1h 40m | 6.6 |
| 2 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | 2004 | Film | 1h 34m | 6.1 |
| 3 | Resident Evil: Extinction | 2007 | Film | 1h 34m | 6.2 |
| 4 | Resident Evil: Degeneration | 2008 | Film | 1h 37m | 6.4 |
| 5 | Resident Evil: Afterlife | 2010 | Film | 1h 37m | 5.8 |
| 6 | Resident Evil: Retribution | 2012 | Film | 1h 35m | 5.3 |
| 7 | Resident Evil: Damnation | 2012 | Film | 1h 40m | 6.4 |
| 8 | Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | 2016 | Film | 1h 47m | 5.5 |
| 9 | Resident Evil: Vendetta | 2017 | Film | 1h 37m | 6.2 |
| 10 | Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness | 2021 | Series | 1h 47m | 5.8 |
| 11 | Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City | 2021 | Film | 1h 47m | 5.2 |
| 12 | Resident Evil | 2022 | Series | 6h 55m | 4.2 |
| 13 | Resident Evil: Death Island | 2023 | Film | 1h 31m | 5.7 |
| 14 | Resident Evil | 2026 | Film | 1h 35m |
Resident Evil timeline: movies in chronological order
The same titles in story order, by when they take place, with the year or era each one is set in.
| # | Title | Set in | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resident Evil | The Hive | 2002 |
| 2 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | Raccoon City | 2004 |
| 3 | Resident Evil: Extinction | The Nevada desert | 2007 |
| 4 | Resident Evil: Afterlife | Los Angeles | 2010 |
| 5 | Resident Evil: Retribution | An Umbrella facility | 2012 |
| 6 | Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | Raccoon City | 2016 |
| 7 | Resident Evil: Degeneration | 2005 | 2008 |
| 8 | Resident Evil: Damnation | 2011 | 2012 |
| 9 | Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness | 2006 | 2021 |
| 10 | Resident Evil: Vendetta | 2014 | 2017 |
| 11 | Resident Evil: Death Island | 2015 | 2023 |
| 12 | Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City | 1998 | 2021 |
| 13 | Resident Evil | 2022 & 2036 | 2022 |
| 14 | Resident Evil | Raccoon City, the night of the outbreak | 2026 |
Release or chronological: which order is best?
Release order and story order disagree on 10 titles here. In release order you start with Resident Evil (2002); in story order you start with Resident Evil, set in The Hive.
First time through, watch in release order. That is how the twists, returning characters and callbacks were built to land, and later entries assume you have seen the earlier ones. On a rewatch, try story order. It turns Resident Evil into one continuous story and makes the prequels play as setup instead of backstory.
Resident Evil also runs 4 separate continuities: The CG films, Welcome to Raccoon City, The Netflix series, and Zach Cregger's reboot (2026). Each has its own line on the timeline, so you can watch them on their own without breaking the main story.
Where to start
Start with Resident Evil and go in release order.
The whole thing is 28 hours. At two hours a night that is about 15 evenings.
The three highest rated: Resident Evil (6.6), Resident Evil: Degeneration (6.4), and Resident Evil: Damnation (6.4).
Every Resident Evil movie, explained
One entry per title in release order: what it is about, why it matters to the bigger story, who is in it and how it did.
No. 01 · 2002 · Film · 1h 40m
Resident Evil
When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military task force to contain the outbreak.
Why it matters: Alice wakes up near the Hive; starts the film series.
- Starring
- Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, and Eric Mabius
- Director
- Paul W. S. Anderson
- Box office
- $103 million on a $33 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.6 · Rotten Tomatoes 36%
No. 02 · 2004 · Film · 1h 34m
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
As the city is locked down under quarantine, Alice finds out that the people that died from the previous incident at the Umbrella Corporation have turned into zombies. She then joins a small band of elite soldiers, who are enlisted to rescue the missing daughter of the creator of the mutating T-virus. Once lack of luck and resources happen, they begin to wage an exhilarating battle to survive and escape before the Umbrella Corporation erases its experiment from the face of the earth.
Why it matters: Raccoon City falls.
- Starring
- Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, and Oded Fehr
- Director
- Alexander Witt
- Box office
- $129 million on a $45 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.1 · Rotten Tomatoes 18%
No. 03 · 2007 · Film · 1h 34m
Resident Evil: Extinction
Years after the Racoon City catastrophe, survivors travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against hordes of zombies and the evil Umbrella Corp.
Why it matters: The outbreak goes global.
- Starring
- Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, and Ali Larter
- Director
- Russell Mulcahy
- Box office
- $148 million on a $45 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.2 · Rotten Tomatoes 24%
No. 04 · 2008 · Film · 1h 37m · 7th in story order
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield must battle a rogue warrior seeking revenge after unleashing the deadly G-Virus, whilst a mutated monster goes on a rampage.
Why it matters: Leon and Claire in the game canon, after Resident Evil 4.
- Starring
- Paul Mercier, Alyson Court, and Laura Bailey
- Director
- Makoto Kamiya
- Box office
- $0 million
- Scores
- IMDb 6.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 67%
No. 05 · 2010 · Film · 1h 37m · 4th in story order
Resident Evil: Afterlife
In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead - and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.
Why it matters: Alice searches for survivors.
- Starring
- Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, and Kim Coates
- Director
- Paul W. S. Anderson
- Box office
- $300 million on a $60 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 5.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 21%
No. 06 · 2012 · Film · 1h 35m · 5th in story order
Resident Evil: Retribution
The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice, awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by new found allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.
Why it matters: Alice inside an Umbrella test facility.
- Starring
- Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, and Michelle Rodriguez
- Director
- Paul W. S. Anderson
- Box office
- $240 million on a $65 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 5.3 · Rotten Tomatoes 28%
No. 07 · 2012 · Film · 1h 40m · 8th in story order
Resident Evil: Damnation
U.S. federal agent Leon S. Kennedy sneaks into the "East Slavic Republic" to verify rumors that Bio-Organic Weapons (BOWs) are being used in the country's civil war, which the U.S. and Russia are making preparations to jointly intervene in. Right after his infiltration, the U.S. government orders him to leave immediately. Determined to uncover the truth, Leon ignores the order and enters the battlefield to end the chain of tragedies caused by the BOWs.
Why it matters: Leon in Eastern Europe.
- Starring
- Matthew Mercer, Courtenay Taylor, and Robin Sachs
- Director
- Makoto Kamiya
- Box office
- $2 million
- Scores
- IMDb 6.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 100%
No. 08 · 2016 · Film · 1h 47m · 6th in story order
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Picking up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, Alice is the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity's final stand against the undead. Now, she must return to where the nightmare began - The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.
Why it matters: Alice returns to the Hive; ends the film series.
- Starring
- Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, and Ali Larter
- Director
- Paul W. S. Anderson
- Box office
- $312 million on a $40 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 5.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 39%
No. 09 · 2017 · Film · 1h 37m · 10th in story order
Resident Evil: Vendetta
When a fearless enemy out for revenge unleashes a brutal and deadly new virus, BSAA captain Chris Redfield enlists the help of Agent Leon S. Kennedy and Professor Rebecca Chambers to bring down the death merchant and save New York City.
Why it matters: Chris, Leon and Rebecca.
- Starring
- Kevin Dorman, Matthew Mercer, and Erin Cahill
- Director
- Takanori Tsujimoto
- Box office
- $0 million
- Scores
- IMDb 6.2 · Rotten Tomatoes 50%
No. 10 · 2021 · Series · 1h 47m · 9th in story order
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness
Years after the horrors of Raccoon City, Leon and Claire find themselves consumed by a dark conspiracy when a viral attack ravages the White House.
Why it matters: Leon and Claire in a Netflix series.
- Starring
- Nick Apostolides, Stephanie Panisello, and Jona Xiao
- Scores
- IMDb 5.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 55%
- Episodes
- 4
No. 11 · 2021 · Film · 1h 47m · 12th in story order
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Once the booming home of pharmaceutical giant Umbrella Corporation, Raccoon City is now a dying Midwestern town. The company’s exodus left the city a wasteland…with great evil brewing below the surface. When that evil is unleashed, the townspeople are forever…changed…and a small group of survivors must work together to uncover the truth behind Umbrella and make it through the night.
Why it matters: A reboot that retells the first two games.
- Starring
- Kaya Scodelario, Hannah John-Kamen, and Robbie Amell
- Director
- Johannes Roberts
- Box office
- $42 million on a $25 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 5.2 · Rotten Tomatoes 30%
No. 12 · 2022 · Series · 6h 55m · 13th in story order
Resident Evil
Years after a viral outbreak caused a global apocalypse, Jade Wesker vows to bring down those responsible while fighting to survive against the Infected.
Why it matters: Wesker's daughters, in its own continuity.
- Starring
- Ella Balinska, Tamara Smart, and Siena Agudong
- Creator
- Andrew Dabb
- Scores
- IMDb 4.2 · Rotten Tomatoes 54%
- Episodes
- 8
No. 13 · 2023 · Film · 1h 31m · 11th in story order
Resident Evil: Death Island
In San Francisco, Jill Valentine is dealing with a zombie outbreak and a new T-Virus, Leon Kennedy is on the trail of a kidnapped DARPA scientist, and Claire Redfield is investigating a monstrous fish that is killing whales in the bay. Joined by Chris Redfield and Rebecca Chambers, they discover the trail of clues from their separate cases all converge on the same location, Alcatraz Island, where a new evil has taken residence and awaits their arrival.
Why it matters: Leon, Chris, Jill, Claire and Rebecca together.
- Starring
- Matthew Mercer, Nicole Tompkins, and Kevin Dorman
- Director
- Eiichiro Hasumi
- Box office
- $0 million
- Scores
- IMDb 5.7 · Rotten Tomatoes 71%
No. 14 · 2026 · Film · 1h 35m
Resident Evil
Medical courier Bryan unwittingly finds himself fighting for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos.
Why it matters: Zach Cregger's reboot: a medical courier drives into Raccoon City on the night of the outbreak. No game characters, its own continuity.
- Starring
- Austin Abrams, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kali Reis
- Director
- Zach Cregger
- Box office
- $361 million on a $75 million budget
- Scores
- Rotten Tomatoes 96%
Resident Evil box office and budgets
The 12 Resident Evil films with reported numbers have grossed $1.64 billion worldwide on about $388 million in combined budgets, roughly 4.2 times what they cost. The biggest is Resident Evil at $361 million, 22% of the franchise's total on its own, followed by Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($312 million) and Resident Evil: Afterlife ($300 million).
Measured against what it cost, the best return belongs to Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which made 7.8 times its $40 million budget. The weakest was Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City at 1.7 times its $25 million budget. As a rule of thumb, a film needs about two and a half times its budget at the box office to cover marketing and the theaters' cut.
The best and worst rated Resident Evil movies
Across 13 rated titles, Resident Evil averages 5.8 on IMDb. The top of the list is Resident Evil at 6.6, then Resident Evil: Degeneration (6.4) and Resident Evil: Damnation (6.4). At the bottom: Resident Evil (4.2) and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (5.2).
- Resident Evil6.6 · RT 36%
- Resident Evil: Degeneration6.4 · RT 67%
- Resident Evil: Damnation6.4 · RT 100%
- Resident Evil: Extinction6.2 · RT 24%
- Resident Evil: Vendetta6.2 · RT 50%
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse6.1 · RT 18%
- Resident Evil: Afterlife5.8 · RT 21%
- Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness5.8 · RT 55%
- Resident Evil: Death Island5.7 · RT 71%
- Resident Evil: The Final Chapter5.5 · RT 39%
Who appears in the most Resident Evil movies
Milla Jovovich leads with 6 appearances as Alice and Alicia Marcus, ahead of Sienna Guillory (3) and Oded Fehr (3). Counted from each title's top-billed cast.
| Actor | Role | Titles | First and latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milla Jovovich | Alice / Alicia Marcus | 6 | Resident Evil (2002) to Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) |
| Sienna Guillory | Jill Valentine | 3 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) to Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) |
| Oded Fehr | Carlos Olivera / Todd | 3 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) to Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) |
| Iain Glen | Dr. Isaacs | 3 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) to Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) |
| Ali Larter | Claire / Claire Redfield | 3 | Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) to Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) |
| Salli Saffioti | Ingrid Hunnigan | 3 | Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) to Resident Evil: Death Island (2023) |
| Matthew Mercer | Leon S. Kennedy / Leon Scott Kennedy | 3 | Resident Evil: Damnation (2012) to Resident Evil: Death Island (2023) |
| Michelle Rodriguez | Rain | 2 | Resident Evil (2002) to Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) |
| Colin Salmon | One | 2 | Resident Evil (2002) to Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) |
| Mike Epps | L.J. | 2 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) to Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) |
| Spencer Locke | K-Mart | 2 | Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) to Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) |
| Michael McConnohie | WilPharma CEO / Tyrant | 2 | Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) to Resident Evil: Damnation (2012) |
Resident Evil directors and creators
9 filmmakers have directed or created Resident Evil; Paul W. S. Anderson has the most, with 4.
- Paul W. S. AndersonResident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
- Makoto KamiyaResident Evil: Degeneration (2008) and Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
- Alexander WittResident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
- Russell MulcahyResident Evil: Extinction (2007)
- Takanori TsujimotoResident Evil: Vendetta (2017)
- Johannes RobertsResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
- Andrew DabbResident Evil (2022)
- Eiichiro HasumiResident Evil: Death Island (2023)
- Zach CreggerResident Evil (2026)
How long it takes to watch every Resident Evil movie
All 14 titles add up to 28 hours: 20 hours of film and 9 hours of series, counting every episode. That is about 15 two-hour evenings, or 3 days of ten-hour binges. The longest film is Resident Evil: The Final Chapter at 1h 47m.
The 4 best rated films: Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Degeneration, Resident Evil: Damnation, and Resident Evil: Extinction.
Everything takes about 5 weeks.
Track what you've watched on the timeline and it counts the hours left.
Common questions
What order should I watch the Resident Evil movies in?
Resident Evil on screen is several separate continuities. Paul W. S. Anderson's six films (2002 to 2016) follow Alice in release order; the CG films (Degeneration, Damnation, Vendetta, Death Island and the Infinite Darkness series) follow the game characters; Welcome to Raccoon City (2021) retells the first games; the 2022 Netflix series stands alone; and Zach Cregger's Resident Evil (2026) is a new standalone reboot that needs no earlier film.
How many Resident Evil movies and shows are there?
There are 14 titles in the Resident Evil franchise: 12 films and 2 series, released from 2002 to 2026.
How long does it take to watch all the Resident Evil movies?
About 28 hours for all 14 titles, counting every episode.
What is the first Resident Evil title in chronological order?
Resident Evil, set in The Hive. In release order the first is Resident Evil (2002).
What is the best Resident Evil movie?
By IMDb score, Resident Evil (2002) at 6.6, followed by Resident Evil: Degeneration at 6.4.
What is the highest-grossing Resident Evil movie?
Resident Evil (2026), with $361 million worldwide. Resident Evil films have made $1.64 billion in total.
Who has appeared in the most Resident Evil movies?
Milla Jovovich, in 6 of them as Alice.
What is the longest Resident Evil movie?
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, at 1h 47m.
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