Pakistan, Sept. 21 -- Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot has made a powerful debut at the box office, setting a new opening record for the horror franchise.

The movie earned around $60 million in North America during its first three days after its September 18 release. The result easily surpassed Sony's initial $40 million estimate and also beat its later projection of $53 million to $55 million.

The strong performance gave the reboot the biggest opening in Resident Evil history. The previous record belonged to Resident Evil: Afterlife, which earned $60.1 million across its entire North American theatrical run.

Meanwhile, the new film added another $43.8 million from 62 international markets. The movie follows a medical courier, playe...