Rob Savage's horror film Other Mommy scared up a bigger-than-expected $27.5 million at the North American box office in its opening weekend, comfortably beating Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning, which managed only $5.5 million in its debut, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
The Jessica Chastain-starring horror film, about a sinister supernatural creature that terrorises a young girl who believes it is her mother, played in 3,365 theatres. It also opened in 50 international markets, pushing its global debut to about $45.2 million — more than double its reported production budget of around $19 million.
Horror delivers again
The result extends horror's remarkable run as the industry's most reliable genre. Other Mommy achieved its opening despite dismal reviews from critics and audiences, earning a D+ CinemaScore — a score it shares with films such as Megalopolis and Hereditary. Universal and Blumhouse's Atomic Monster deliberately chose not to screen the film for the press before release, a strategy that appears to have kept negative word-of-mouth from spreading before opening weekend.
Universal's head of domestic distribution Jim Orr noted that the audience was evenly split between men and women, with about two-thirds between the ages of 18 and 34, calling it "a very good sign" for the film's reach.
A rough start for Sorkin's Facebook sequel
The Social Reckoning, Sorkin's $40 million sequel to The Social Network, opened in fifth place with $5.5 million domestically and about $9 million globally. Mixed reviews and the long gap since the original appear to have dulled audience interest.
Last weekend's champion, Verity, slipped to second with $11.5 million, while Resident Evil held third with $8.4 million and Heart of the Beast took fourth with $7.1 million.
Sources: LA NACION: 'Other Mommy' tops the box office with $27.5M; 'The Social Reckoning' opens to $5.5M; Moviefone: Weekend Box Office: 'Other Mommy' Creeps to the Top
The Jessica Chastain-starring horror film, about a sinister supernatural creature that terrorises a young girl who believes it is her mother, played in 3,365 theatres. It also opened in 50 international markets, pushing its global debut to about $45.2 million — more than double its reported production budget of around $19 million.
Horror delivers again
The result extends horror's remarkable run as the industry's most reliable genre. Other Mommy achieved its opening despite dismal reviews from critics and audiences, earning a D+ CinemaScore — a score it shares with films such as Megalopolis and Hereditary. Universal and Blumhouse's Atomic Monster deliberately chose not to screen the film for the press before release, a strategy that appears to have kept negative word-of-mouth from spreading before opening weekend.
Universal's head of domestic distribution Jim Orr noted that the audience was evenly split between men and women, with about two-thirds between the ages of 18 and 34, calling it "a very good sign" for the film's reach.
A rough start for Sorkin's Facebook sequel
The Social Reckoning, Sorkin's $40 million sequel to The Social Network, opened in fifth place with $5.5 million domestically and about $9 million globally. Mixed reviews and the long gap since the original appear to have dulled audience interest.
Last weekend's champion, Verity, slipped to second with $11.5 million, while Resident Evil held third with $8.4 million and Heart of the Beast took fourth with $7.1 million.
Sources: LA NACION: 'Other Mommy' tops the box office with $27.5M; 'The Social Reckoning' opens to $5.5M; Moviefone: Weekend Box Office: 'Other Mommy' Creeps to the Top