While Jessica Chastain’s horror movie “The Other Mother” topped the North American box office this weekend with a larger-than-expected audience, “The Social Reckoning” is off to a lackluster start.
“Other Mommy,” released by Universal Pictures, grossed $27.5 million in its first few days in 3,365 theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The film, about a sinister supernatural creature terrorizing a young girl who thinks she is her mother, received negative reviews from both critics and audiences. It also joins “Megalopolis” and “Hereditary” with a D+ CinemaScore.
But with a production budget of nearly $19 million, this is also another triumph for the horror genre and producer Blumhouse Atomic Monster, behind “Backrooms” and “Obsession.” “The Other Mother” opened in all 50 international markets, bringing its worldwide debut to $45.2 million.
Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, noted that audiences were evenly split by gender, with about 2/3 of them between the ages of 18 and 34.
“No matter how you look at it, everyone was on board with it. It wasn’t just a certain demographic group,” Orr said. “That’s usually a very good sign.”
The weekend’s other big movie, “The Social Reckoning,” wasn’t so lucky, grossing an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theaters. Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed the film, about a Facebook whistleblower who leaks incriminating documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter.
Sixteen years ago, “The Social Network,” written by Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, opened with more than $22 million and grossed more than $224 million worldwide, earning eight Oscar nominations and three awards. A similar fate may be in store for “The Social Reckoning,” starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, which received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore. According to reports, the production cost of the Sony Pictures version was approximately $30 million, excluding marketing and promotion.
October is a time when studios take chances, and it doesn’t always pay off, said Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s head of market trends.
“These films, which are inherently topical, sometimes resonate with the culture and sometimes they don’t,” Dergarabedian said. “You don’t always know what will connect with audiences.”
He compared “The Social Reckoning” to “Digger,” which dropped 60% in its second weekend.
“Social Reckoning” was also opened after many obstacles. Anne Hathaway’s psychological thriller “Verity” came in second with $11.5 million, down 64% from its opening weekend. “Resident Evil” ranked third, increasing its domestic total by $8.4 million to $138.5 million. Brad Pitt’s survival thriller “Heart of the Beast” came in fourth with $7.1 million.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” also returned to the top 10 in its 13th weekend in theaters, where it was released in 12 IMAX 70mm locations. It added $2 million from 560 North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to $623 million.
A number of high-profile films were released in limited release this weekend as well. Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Fjord” opened on four screens this weekend and grossed $124,000. Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour-long Elon Musk documentary “Musk” earned $68,900 from four locations. And Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” earned $85,716 from six locations through Sunday.
The annual domestic box office surpassed $8 billion on Friday, up more than 19% from last year. That’s about 8% behind 2019, according to Rentrak.
This list, along with final domestic numbers released Monday, includes estimated ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters from Friday through Sunday, according to Rentrak:
1. “The Other Mother,” $27.5 million.
2. “Verity,” $11.5 million.
3. “Resident Evil,” $8.4 million.
4. “Heart of the Beast” $7.1 million.
5. “Social Reckoning,” $5.5 million.
6. “The Forgotten Island,” $4.5 million.
7. “Primetime,” $4 million.
8. “Digger,” $3.2 million.
9. “The Angel and the Villain” $2.1 million.
10. “Odyssey,” $2 million.