Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s horror release “Other Mommy” captured first place at the domestic box office this weekend with an estimated $27.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio figures reported Sunday. The film outpaced expectations despite receiving dismal audience polling and critical reviews, while the weekend’s other high-profile newcomer, “The Social Reckoning,” landed in fifth place with an estimated $5.5 million.
“Other Mommy,” which stars Jessica Chastain in dual roles as a mother and an evil supernatural entity mirroring her form, debuted across 3,365 North American theaters. It added more than $17.6 million internationally, pushing its global premiere to roughly $45 million. The opening hands the studio an immediate commercial win against an estimated production budget of $18 million to $19 million.
Poor audience scores cast doubt on staying power
Despite leading ticket sales, “Other Mommy” earned one of the harshest audience reactions of the year. The horror feature received a D+ grade from exit polling service CinemaScore and notched approval ratings below 20 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Universal domestic distribution chief Jim Orr told ABC News that attendance drew an even split between male and female ticket buyers, with roughly two-thirds of the crowd falling between ages 18 and 34.
Box office analyst David A. Gross told Variety that while scary films frequently resist negative feedback, such severe scores often foreshadow steep drops in subsequent weeks. “Business is going to drop sharply,” Gross said.
The weekend’s other wide debut faced an even steeper hurdle. Sony Pictures and Alcon Entertainment’s “The Social Reckoning,” written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, fell far short of projections with $5.5 million from 2,606 locations. The film follows a Facebook whistleblower, played by Mikey Madison, who shares internal files with a journalist played by Jeremy Allen White. Jeremy Strong portrays Mark Zuckerberg, who was previously played by Jesse Eisenberg in 2010’s “The Social Network.”
Sorkin’s original 2010 drama launched with more than $22 million and collected more than $224 million worldwide, along with three Academy Awards. “The Social Reckoning,” produced for approximately $30 million, struggled to find traction with mainstream viewers. Audiences gave it a B- on CinemaScore, and early ticket buyers were heavily skewed toward older men.
Holdovers and storm impacts across theaters
Overall theatrical receipts were also dampened across the Southeast and Gulf Coast by Hurricane Isaias, which made landfall late Friday and depressed attendance in several key southern markets, distributors told Deadline.
Holdover titles claimed the intermediate spots on the box office chart:
- Amazon MGM’s romantic thriller “Verity” placed second with $11.5 million in its second weekend, dropping 64 percent to reach nearly $54 million domestically and $113 million globally.
- Sony’s reboot “Resident Evil” secured third place with $8.3 million to $8.4 million, elevating its domestic sum to $138.5 million.
- Paramount’s survival picture “Heart of the Beast,” featuring Brad Pitt, placed fourth with $7.1 million, lifting its domestic total to nearly $50 million.
- Warner Bros.’ high-budget satire “Digger” plummeted 60 percent in its second frame to $3.2 million, bringing its cumulative domestic haul to roughly $14 million against production costs exceeding $160 million.
On Friday, the overall domestic box office surpassed the $8 billion threshold for the calendar year, reaching the benchmark roughly two months earlier than it did in 2025. What remains to be seen is whether “Other Mommy” can withstand upcoming competition from Halloween releases or if poor word-of-mouth will cause its box office returns to collapse next weekend.
