Resident Evil: Extinction (2007): Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

Resident Evil: Extinction is a survival horror film set five years after the Raccoon City outbreak, in which the T-virus has turned most of the planet into desert and the Umbrella Corporation keeps cloning Alice. It is the third entry in the saga, following Resident Evil Apocalypse.

How does Resident Evil: Extinction start? A clone of Alice wakes in a mansion, works her way through its security traps and is killed by a mine. Her body is then dumped in a pit with many other failed clones made by Umbrella. The film cuts to the world outside, where the real Alice wanders alone and finds a notebook with hints of a safe, uninfected region in Alaska.

Elsewhere, Claire Redfield leads a convoy of survivors across the wasteland, including Carlos, L.J. and K-Mart. L.J. has been bitten and is hiding it from the others. Infected crows attack the group, and Alice arrives to save them with her telekinetic powers.

The film sits in the middle of the Alice story. If you are working through the series, our guide to Resident Evil movies in order shows where it falls, and the Resident Evil timeline places it five years after the outbreak.

Resident Evil: Extinction reached US theaters on September 21, 2007, Australia on October 11, 2007 and the UK on October 12, 2007. Reporting on the film does not name a premiere date, city or venue, so the release dates are the firm anchors.

Was Resident Evil: Extinction a hit or a flop? It was a hit by the numbers. The film opened at number one in North America with about $23 million from 2,828 theaters, and Box Office Mojo records $50.6 million domestic and $97.1 million international. That adds up to $147.7 million worldwide against a $45 million budget, or a little over three times what it cost. It out earned Resident Evil Apocalypse, though it made less than half of what Resident Evil Afterlife took later. For the series figures, see Resident Evil box office.

What about a parents guide for Resident Evil: Extinction? The film is rated R in the US, 15 in the UK and MA 15+ in Australia. Expect zombie attacks, infected crows swarming a convoy, a character who is bitten and turns, and a tanker explosion.

Resident Evil: Extinction was filmed in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, with principal photography beginning in May 2006. Filming was first planned for the Australian Outback but moved to Mexico, and the Mexicali desert stands in for the ruined world of the film.

Production designer Eugenio Caballero built sets including Umbrella's underground lab, a recreation of the Las Vegas Strip and a replica of the Spencer Mansion.

Resident Evil: Extinction trivia covers its move from Australia to Mexico, the director Paul W. S. Anderson chose and a cast change that brought in Claire Redfield.

• Filming was first planned for the Australian Outback but moved to Mexico, with principal photography beginning in May 2006 in Mexicali, Baja California.
• Production designer Eugenio Caballero built Umbrella's underground lab, a Las Vegas Strip recreation and a replica Spencer Mansion.
• Paul W. S. Anderson hired Russell Mulcahy to direct, citing his earlier work on Highlander and The Shadow.
• Sienna Guillory was planned to return as Jill Valentine but passed because of Eragon commitments, so Claire Redfield was added in her place.
• The film opened at number one in North America with about $23 million from 2,828 theaters.
• Screen Gems, Constantin Film and Davis Film produced it, with Sony and Screen Gems distributing in the US.

For how the films differ from the games, see Resident Evil games vs movies, and for the company behind the outbreak, see the Umbrella Corporation.