Return to Silent Hill debuted to a lukewarm reception last week, with just $3.2 million coming in from North American theaters.
Faring a little better outside the domestic market, director Christophe Gans’ take on the revered Silent Hill 2 storyline was the fifth-biggest movie of the week internationally, making $16 million. $9.3 million of that came from China, where Return to Silent Hill has started strong. Overall, the global opening weekend box office amounted to $19.3 million.
That domestic tally of just $3.2 million will be of particular concern, though. Despite Konami resurrecting its horror franchise with two well-received games, Silent Hill 2 Remake and Silent Hill f (as well as the divisive Silent Hill: Ascension and upcoming Silent Hill Townfall), Return to Silent Hill had the lowest domestic box office opening of all three Silent Hill movies; 2006’s Silent Hill generated $20.2 million, and the painfully poor follow-up Silent Hill: Revelation just $8 million — which is still more than twice Return to Silent Hill’s domestic opening.
Even taking into account the snowstorms blowing across North America, over at Rotten Tomatoes, Return to Silent Hill sits on an abysmal 18% on the Tomatometer, and 29% on the user-driven Popcommenter, making it the worst-reviewed movie of the year so far (although, in fairness, we’re still in January!).
Gans recently said that despite receiving death threats over adapting the horror series for the big screen, he would be open to bringing another instalment to life, insisting: “I will adapt another chapter because there are some that are extremely good, something very different from the first film, and now Return to Silent Hill. I like this world, and I can see that plenty of people are thinking I’m doing a pretty good job.”
The question is, will he get the chance to make another Silent Hill movie? Perhaps working in Gans’ favor is the fact Return to Silent Hill carries a modest production budget of $23 million.
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IGN’s Return to Silent Hill review returned a 5/10. We said: “Return to Silent Hill isn’t completely without merit. It’s certainly a better follow-up to Cristophe Gans’ original 2006 film than 2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation, one that finds some success drawing on the creepy imagery and sound design of the games. But it’s ultimately an adaptation that fails to improve upon the source material or do anything particularly new and interesting. Those craving a truly great psychological horror experience are better off booting up a version of Silent Hill 2.”
You can find out more about what was and wasn’t changed in the Silent Hill 2 movie adaptation right here. We also have a handy list of all the video game movies and TV shows coming in 2026 and beyond.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
