“Other Mommy” tops the box office with $27.5 million; “The Social Reckoning” Opens to $5.5 Million

Jessica Chastain’s horror “Other Mommy” dominated the North American box office this weekend with a bigger-than-expected audience, while “The Social Reckoning” got off to a lackluster start.

“Other Mommy,” distributed by Universal Pictures, grossed $27.5 million in its first days from 3,365 theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film, which tells the story of a sinister supernatural creature that terrorizes a young girl who thinks it is her mother, received dismal reviews from critics and audiences. It also joins the ranks of “Megapolis” and “Hereditary” with a CinemaScore D+.

But with a production budget of around $19 million, it’s also another win for the horror genre and Blumhouse producer Atomic Monster, behind “Backrooms” and “Obsession.” “Other Mommy” also opened in 50 international markets, bringing its worldwide debut to $45.2 million.

Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution, noted that the gender split of the audience was evenly split, and about two-thirds were aged 18 to 34.

“No matter how you look at it, everyone joined in. It wasn’t just about one particular demographic,” Orr said. “That’s usually a very good sign.”

“The Social Reckoning,” the weekend’s other big release, wasn’t as lucky, grossing about $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theaters. Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed the film about a Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter.

Sixteen years ago, “The Social Network,” written by Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, grossed more than $22 million and grossed more than $224 million worldwide, receiving eight Academy Award nominations and winning three. A similar fate could be difficult for “The Social Reckoning,” which stars Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong and has received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Audiences gave it a B-CinemaScore. According to reports, the Sony Pictures release cost around $30 million to produce, not including marketing and promotion.

Paul Dergarabedian, head of market trends at Rentrak, said October is a time when studios take risks and it doesn’t always work out.

“These films that are topical in nature, sometimes they resonate with the culture, sometimes they don’t,” Dergarabedian said. “We don’t always know what will affect the public. »

He compared “The Social Reckoning” to “Digger,” which dropped 60% in its second weekend.

“The Social Reckoning” also opened behind several remains. Anne Hathaway’s psychological thriller “Verity” 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. Brad Pitt’s survival thriller “Heart of the Beast” placed fourth with $7.1 million.

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” also made another appearance in the top 10 during its 13th weekend in theaters where it was back in 12 IMAX 70mm theaters. It added $2 million from 560 North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to just under $623 million.

Several high-profile films also came out in limited release this weekend. The Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Fjord” debuted on four screens this weekend where it grossed $124,000. Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour documentary “Musk” about Elon Musk grossed $68,900 from four sites. And Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” earned $85,716 from six sites through Sunday.

The annual domestic box office crossed the $8 billion mark on Friday and is up more than 19% from last year. According to Rentrak, this represents around 8% behind 2019.

With final domestic numbers released Monday, this list takes into account estimated Friday-Sunday ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:

1. “Other Mom,” $27.5 million.

2. “Verity,” $11.5 million.

3. “Resident Evil,” $8.4 million.

4. “Heart of the Beast,” $7.1 million.

5. “The social report”, 5.5 million dollars.

6. “Forgotten Island,” $4.5 million.

7. “Primetime,” $4 million.

8. “Digger,” $3.2 million.

9. “The Angel and the Bad Guy,” $2.1 million.

10. “The Odyssey,” $2 million.