LOS ANGELES – The undead of “Resident Evil” still have plenty of life in them.

“Resident Evil: Extinction,” with Milla Jovovich again fighting flesh-hungry zombies in the third installment based on the video game, opened as the No. 1 weekend flick with $24 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates today.

It was the best debut for the franchise, topping the $23 million debut of part two, 2004’s “Resident Evil: Apocalypse.”

Sony Screen Gems hinted there could be more “Resident Evil” movies, though the latest had been billed as the final one.

“Until the next,” joked Sony’s head of distribution, Rory Bruer. “It absolutely would not surprise me considering the success of the franchise that they find a way to come up with another. It’s a real possibility.”

Lionsgate’s “Good Luck Chuck,” with Jessica Alba and Dane Cook in a romantic comedy about a man jinxed at finding true love, debuted in second place with $14 million despite an almost universal thrashing by critics.

Universal’s “Sydney White,” starring Amanda Bynes as a college freshman who teams with frat house dorks in a fight against campus snobs, premiered at No. 6 with $5.3 million.

The previous weekend’s top movie, the Warner Bros. drama “The Brave One,” fell to No. 3 with $7.4 million, raising its total to $25.1 million.
Brad Pitt’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild” each opened strongly in limited release.

Mr. Penn went behind the camera for his fourth directing effort on “Into the Wild,” which took in $206,596 at four theaters for a whopping average of $51,649 a cinema, compared with $8,487 in 2,828 theaters for “Resident Evil: Extinction.”

“Into the Wild,” released by Paramount Vantage, stars Emile Hirsch in the real-life story of Christopher McCandless, whose two-year odyssey of self-exploration across North America ended tragically in Alaska.

Mr. Pitt stars as the legendary outlaw in the Warner Bros. saga “Assassination of Jesse James,” which took in $144,000 in five theaters, averaging $28,800. The film chronicles the last year of James’ life as he lapses into paranoia over betrayal by cohorts, among them young admirer Ford, played by Casey Affleck.

“Into the Wild” expands to more theaters beginning Friday, and “Assassination of Jesse James” begins wider release October 5.

Focus Features’ “Eastern Promises,” with Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts in a drama set among Russian mobsters in London, expanded from a handful of theaters into nationwide release, coming in at No. 5 with $5.7 million.

The top five movies all had R ratings, unusual in a movie market generally dominated by PG-13 flicks.

“The Rs have it this weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “That makes sense in this fall season, when grittier, more intense films are released.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released toomorrow.

1. “Resident Evil: Extinction,” $24 million.

2. “Good Luck Chuck,” $14 million.

3. “The Brave One,” $7.4 million.

4. “3:10 to Yuma,” $6.35 million.

5. “Eastern Promises,” $5.7 million.

6. “Sydney White,” $5.3 million.

7. “Mr. Woodcock,” $5 million.

8. “Superbad,” $3.1 million.

9. “The Bourne Ultimatum,” $2.8 million.

10. “Dragon Wars,” $2.5 million.

———

On the Net:

http://www.mediabynumbers.com

———

Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Vivendi Universal; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; DreamWorks, Paramount and Paramount Vantage are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney’s parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp