Box Office Leaders and Disappointments
Universal and Blumhouse’s campy horror thriller Other Mommy secured the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, pulling in $27.5 million in ticket sales. Starring Jessica Chastain as a double-jointed doppelgänger from hell, the film outperformed initial projections despite being met with severe critical backlash. According to Variety, the movie holds a 19% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received a “D+” grade on CinemaScore exit polls. In addition to its domestic earnings, “Other Mommy” collected $17.69 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $45.19 million against a modest $18 million budget.
In contrast, Sony’s new release The Social Reckoning stumbled significantly in its debut, landing in fifth place with $5.5 million domestically. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the R-rated follow-up to 2010’s acclaimed The Social Network was projected to open to $7 million to $8 million. The film follows a Facebook engineer, played by Mikey Madison, who leaks internal documents to a reporter portrayed by Jeremy Allen White. Internationally, the feature added $3.5 million from 29 markets, resulting in a $9 million global start.
Broader Market Performance and Weather Impacts
Industry analysts noted that box office figures across the Southern and Gulf regions were partially hampered by Hurricane Isaias, which made landfall late Friday evening, affecting ticket sales for holdovers like Amazon MGM’s romantic thriller Verity. Despite regional weather disruptions, the October 9–11 domestic marketplace reached an estimated $85.157 million, according to data from Rentrak reported by Deadline. Year-to-date domestic box office revenue has crossed the $8 billion threshold, sitting at $8.07 billion through October 11.
Among holdovers, Warner Bros.’ satirical feature Digger experienced a steep 60% decline in its second weekend, earning $3.2 million from 3,321 theaters for a domestic total of $14.4 million. Meanwhile, Sony’s Resident Evil remake held onto third place with $8.35 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $138.5 million and providing a financial cushion against studio losses from “The Social Reckoning.” Specialty releases also made initial moves, including Neon’s legal thriller Fjord, which opened with $124,000 across four theaters in New York and Los Angeles.