Be it movies, games, TV shows, or virtually any other form of media entertainment, zombies are found in every nook and cranny of pop-culture. There is just something about the disturbing concept of the undead and the impossible madness of it that never fails to attract an audience. And for studios, this popularity directly translates into money which is why there's always a new zombie film on the horizon, regardless of how overused the trope has become at this point.
Zombie films used to be a small niche once upon a time, but like many other genres have now inflated into films that deal in hundreds of millions of dollars. Taking everything into account, the following list ranks some of the most popular zombie movies according to how much money they made.
Peninsula (2020) - $42.3 Million
The sequel to 2016's Train to Busan on paper, Peninsula is actually a standalone film completely unrelated to the plot or characters of its predecessor. The similarities between the two films end at their titles.
While Train to Busan was more focused on the down-to-earth family and human elements that made it special, Peninsula is a straight-up military action thriller with a zombie setting. It had nearly twice the budget of Train to Busan but didn't manage to gross even half of what it had.
28 Weeks Later (2007) - $64.2 million
Making a good sequel is a tough job, to please the fans is even tougher. The sequel to the cult-classic 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later is by no means a bad film, but according to the general consensus, it nearly doesn't hit the marks that its predecessor did. The difference in ratings between the two on sites such as IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes reflects this.
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo replaced the original director Danny Boyle, and the film was written by a different creative team as well, taking place in the same zombie-infested Britain that the first film explored.
28 Days Later (2002) - $82.7 million
Fast zombies are commonly found in zombie movies now as they are arguably more intense and fear-inducing, and 2002's 28 Days Later was the first zombie film ever to introduce this concept in contrast to the slow-moving ones.
One of the most influential zombie flicks of the century, its effects can be found in virtually every other zombie film that succeeds it, to a certain extent. It was made on a surprisingly small budget of only $8 million, which is difficult to imagine in this day and age.
Train to Busan (2016) - $98.5 Million
Not the first nor the latest South Korean zombie film, but Train to Busan has a relatively larger international fanbase than any other foreign film of its genre and is frequently considered one of the best.
From director Yeon Sang-ho, the film follows a group of people on a train ride to Busan as civilization crumbles around them in the form of a zombie apocalypse. It is certainly an emotional ride, and the film doesn't shy away from killing off a majority of its cast of characters throughout the disastrous events of the movie.
Dawn Of The Dead (2004) - $102.3 Million
George A. Romero's 1978 film Dawn of the Dead is one of the earliest forerunners of the modern-day zombie genre that greatly influenced its rise in popularity over the years. The 2004 remake of the same name was directed by Man of Steel director Zack Snyder in his debut film and written by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.
Whether the remake is better than the original is a debate for a different time, but the film grossed nearly four times its budget of $26 million at the box-office.
Zombieland (2009) - $102.4 Million
When dealing with zombies there are basically two routes a film can take. It can either be super serious about its premise or just be purely fun, and Zombieland exceeds in the latter category.
In his debut film, Venom director Ruben Fleischer with Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick tell the story of a recluse college kid who traverses a zombie-infested America. Banding together with a group of strangers, the only thing that has kept him alive as long as it has is a strict set of rules he follows, which is a running gimmick in the film series.
Warm Bodies (2013) - $117 Million
Romance and zombies don't sound like the most compatible genres, but Warm Bodies manages to make it work somehow. It was based on the book of the same name by author Isaac Marion, which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (a play about death but not necessarily the undead).
X-Men: First Class actor Nicholas Hoult plays a zombie by the name of R, who regains his humanity back after falling in love with a human being. The question of whether it's good or bad aside, the premise is certainly as unique as it comes.
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) - $122.8 Million
2009' Zombieland was a financial hit and also loved by audiences and critics worldwide, but even then it took nearly a decade for the sequel to finally get released. That is to be perhaps expected from a star-studded cast that includes people with understandably busy schedules such as Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Emma Stone.
Double Tap continues the journey of the four on even more shenanigans as they grow closer as a family while introducing newer actors into the plot such as The Mandalorian star Rosario Dawson.
World War Z (2013) - $540 Million
Elevated purely by the performance of its lead star Brad Pitt, World War Z is the story of an ex-UN field agent investigating a worldwide pandemic that has turned the population into zombies while trying to ensure his family's safety.
A top-tier thriller that is as much about survival as it is about family, the film had an extremely troubling development that involved several re-writes and reshoots. Despite grossing nearly three times its budget, the production of a sequel proved to be problematic and as of right now is reported to be canceled.
The Resident Evil Franchise (2002-2016) - $1.2 Billion
Resident Evil films can be frequently found on lists about the worst movies based on video games, but on the other hand, they have never disappointed when it comes to the only thing that ultimately matters- box office numbers.
Its last installment was the highest-grossing contender with over $312 million worldwide gross, so even if it was subtitled The Final Chapter it probably won't be. Created by Paul W. S. Anderson and featuring his wife Milla Jovovich, the films revolve around a woman Alice as she fights against the evil Umbrella Corporation.