Box Office Report: 'Resident Evil: Retribution' Earns Pleasing $665,000 in Midnight Runs

Sony and Screen Gems' zombie-battling Resident Evil: Retribution grossed a pleasing $665,000 in midnight runs as it launched 12:01 a.m. Friday at the North American box office.

our editor recommends

'Resident Evil: Retribution' Cast, Director on How the Franchise is Getting 'Bigger and Better'

Comic-Con 2012: 'Resident Evil' Cast Reveals Alice Will Visit the Real World (Video)

PHOTOS: Fall Movie Preview 2012: Major New Releases From Spielberg, Jackson, Tarantino, the Wachowskis, Burton and More

That's midway between the midnight performance of recent pics The Bourne Legacy ($540,000) and The Expendables 2 ($725,000), and ahead of the $625,000 earned by Resident Evil: Afterlife, the last title in the franchise.

Sony is predicting a weekend opening in the low-to-mid $20 million neighborhood for Retribution, the fifth film in the Resident Evil franchise that has seen Milla Jovovich battle wave upon wave of futuristic zombies, should follow just behind, opening to a number in the low-to-mid $20 million neighborhood.

From Sony’s Screen Gems unit, the Resident movies have been reliable moneymakers. 2002’s Resident Evil bowed to $17.7 million. The subsequent installments have opened to $23 million, $23.7 million and $26.7 million respectively.

VIDEO: 'Resident Evil' Cast Reveals Alice Will Visit the Real World

The newest chapter, produced in 3D at a cost of $65 million and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, who directed two of the previous films in the series, will play 3012 sites in North America, including Imax locations. And it’s expected to break out abroad, where the series has really proven its popularity – the last film, 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife grossed $60.1 million domestically and another $236.1 million abroad.