'Other Mommy' Tops North American Box Office as 'The Social Reckoning' Disappoints in Its Debut
Key Takeaways
- •The horror film "Other Mommy" topped the North American box office with an estimated $27.5 million opening across 3,365 theaters, drawing a larger audience than industry expectations.
- •Despite a D+ CinemaScore, "Other Mommy" posted a $45.2 million global debut against a reported $19 million budget, with Universal noting an even gender split and about two-thirds ofgoers aged 18 to 34.
- •Aaron Sorkin's "The Social Reckoning" opened to an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 theaters, less than a fifth of its reported $30 million production budget, amid mixed-to-negative reviews and a B- CinemaScore.
- •Among holdovers, "Verity" finished second with $11.5 million, "Resident Evil" third with $8.4 million to reach a $138.5 million domestic total, and "Heart of the Beast" fourth with $7.1 million.
- •The annual domestic box office crossed $8 billion on Friday, up more than 19% from last year but still roughly 8% behind 2019 levels, according to Rentrak.
The Jessica Chastain horror film “Other Mommy” claimed the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, drawing a larger audience than industry expectations, while “The Social Reckoning” — Aaron Sorkin's drama about the Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter — got off to a disappointing start.
“Other Mommy,” released by Universal Pictures, earned an estimated $27.5 million in its first few days across 3,365 theaters, according to studio estimates released Sunday. The film centers on a sinister supernatural creature that terrorizes a young girl who believes it is her mother, and it received dismal reviews critics and audiences alike. It now joins “Megalopolis” and “Hereditary” among films saddled with a D+ CinemaScore.
With a production budget of around $19 million, however, the release marks another commercial win for the horror genre and for producer Blumhouse Atomic Monster, the company behind “Backrooms” and “Obsession.” “Other Mommy” also opened in 50 international markets, lifting its global debut to $45.2 million — a figure that already stands at more than double the film's reported budget and illustrates the low-cost, high-return economics that have long made horror a dependable theatrical proposition.
Jim Orr, Universal's head of domestic distribution, said the audience was evenly split by gender and that about two-thirds of moviegoers were between the ages of 18 and 34.
“No matter how you look at it, everybody turned out for it. It wasn't just one particular demographic,” Orr said. “That usually is a very good sign.”
“The Social Reckoning,” the weekend's other major new release, was not as fortunate, taking in an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theaters. Sorkin wrote and directed the film, which stars Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong and follows a Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter.
Sixteen years earlier, “The Social Network” — written by Sorkin and directed by David Fincher — opened to more than $22 million and went on to gross over $224 million worldwide, earning eight Oscar nominations and winning three. A similar fate might be a stretch for “The Social Reckoning,” which received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, while audiences assigned it a B- CinemaScore. According to reports, the Sony Pictures release cost around $30 million to produce, not accounting for marketing and promotion. The start leaves the film with a wide gap to close: its $5.5 million debut amounts to less than a fifth of that reported production budget before a single marketing dollar is spent.
Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, noted that October is a month when studios take chances, and those bets do not always pay off.
“These movies that are topical in nature, sometimes they resonate with the culture, sometimes they don't,” Dergarabedian said. “You don't always know what's going to connect with audiences.”
He compared “The Social Reckoning” to “Digger,” which fell 60% in its second weekend.
“The Social Reckoning” also opened behind several holdovers. “Verity,” a psychological thriller starring Anne Hathaway, took second place with $11.5 million, down 64% from its opening weekend. In third place, “Resident Evil” added $8.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $138.5 million. The Brad Pitt survival thriller “Heart of the Beast” finished fourth with $7.1 million.
Christopher Nolan's “The Odyssey” made an encore appearance in the top 10 in its 13th weekend in theaters, returning to 12 IMAX 70 mm locations. The film added $2 million from 560 North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to just shy of $623 million.
Several high-profile films also opened in limited release. “Fjord,” winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, debuted on four screens and earned $124,000. Alex Gibney's Elon Musk documentary “Musk,” which runs nearly four hours, made $68,900 from four locations, and Chris Rock's “Misty Green” took in $85,716 from six locations through Sunday.
The annual domestic box office crossed the $8 billion mark on Friday and is up more than 19% from last year, though it remains roughly 8% behind 2019, according to Rentrak — a sign that theatrical moviegoing continues to rebound even though overall revenue has not yet returned to its 2019 level.
With final domestic figures due out Monday, and with both wide releases facing the second-weekend holds that often determine whether openings like these build or fade, the following list reflects estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
- “Other Mommy” — $27.5 million
- “Verity” — $11.5 million
- “Resident Evil” — $8.4 million
- “Heart of the Beast” — $7.1 million
- “The Social Reckoning” — $5.5 million
- “Forgotten Island” — $4.5 million
- “Primetime” — $4 million
- “Digger” — $3.2 million
- “Angel and the Badman” — $2.1 million
- “The Odyssey” — $2 million
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.
