‘Other Mommy’ leads North American box office with $27.5M as ‘The Social Reckoning’ opens to $5.5M

The Story

Jessica Chastain’s horror film ‘Other Mommy’ topped the North American box office over the weekend, earning an estimated $27.5 million during its first few days from 3,365 theatres, according to studio estimates reported Sunday.

The film, released by Universal Pictures, is about a sinister supernatural creature that terrorizes a young girl who believes it is her mother. Despite dismal reviews from critics and audiences, it also earned a D+ CinemaScore. With a reported production budget of around $19 million, the movie is produced by Blumhouse Atomic Monster, which was behind ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’.

‘Other Mommy’ also expanded internationally, opening in 50 markets and lifting its global debut to $45.2 million. Universal’s head of domestic distribution, Jim Orr, said the audience gender split was evenly divided and about two-thirds were between 18 and 34 years old, adding that the turnout was not limited to a single demographic.

‘The Social Reckoning,’ the weekend’s other major release, did not match that momentum. The Sony Pictures release, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and about a Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter, earned an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theatres.

Audiences gave ‘The Social Reckoning’ a B- CinemaScore, after mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. Reports cited a production cost of around $30 million, not including marketing and promotion.

The weekend’s top performances included ‘Verity’ in second place with $11.5 million, down 64% from its opening weekend, followed by ‘Resident Evil’ in third with $8.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $138.5 million. ‘Heart of the Beast’ placed fourth with $7.1 million, while Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ returned to the top 10 in its 13th weekend in theatres that included 12 IMAX 70 mm locations.

‘The Odyssey’ added $2 million from 560 North American theatres, bringing its domestic total to just shy of $623 million. In limited release, ‘Fjord’ debuted on four screens for $124,000; Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ made $68,900 from four locations; and Chris Rock’s ‘Misty Green’ earned $85,716 from six locations through Sunday.

Overall, the annual domestic box office crossed the $8 billion mark on Friday and was up more than 19% from the previous year, about 8% behind 2019, according to Rentrak.

Based on estimated domestic ticket sales from Friday through Sunday, the top 10 movies by domestic box office were: ‘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’ ($4.0 million), ‘Digger’ ($3.2 million), ‘Angel and the Badman’ ($2.1 million) and ‘The Odyssey’ ($2.0 million).