Other Mommy tops box office

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse secured the top position at the North American box office as the supernatural horror feature Other Mommy dominated ticket sales during its opening weekend, according to industry estimates. Directed by Rob Savage, the film stars Jessica Chastain in dual roles as a mother and a sinister entity haunting a young girl. Despite a flurry of negative reviews from critics and audiences alike, the title exceeded initial studio projections.

Industry analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research pointed out that horror features often prove immune to poor initial reception. The idea of a possessed and frightening mom, played by Jessica Chastain, is attracting audiences and should work around the world, before poor word-of-mouth catches up with it, Gross told reporters, noting that business is expected to drop sharply in subsequent weeks.

Financial Breakdown and International Performance

Produced on a reported budget of $19 million, Other Mommy grossed $27.5 million domestically across a wide theater count. Universal released the horror project in 3,200 to 3,365 North American locations, benefiting significantly from a striking promotional trailer that initially screened ahead of the studio's release of The Odyssey. Internationally, the film collected approximately $17.6 million across 50 markets, bringing its combined worldwide opening to roughly $45.2 million.

Despite the strong financial start, audience reception remained deeply divided. According to reports from trade publications, the film earned a woeful D+ CinemaScore from opening-weekend audiences — marking the lowest grade for a wide release since Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis in September 2024. Reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes awarded the project a low approval rating, while critic Richard Lawson of The Hollywood Reporter described the feature as an attractive yet vacuous collection of jumpy sequences and half-baked mythology.

The Struggle of Corporate Intrigue and Tech Dramas

In stark contrast to the horror genre's triumph, Sony Pictures’ The Social Reckoning suffered a severe defeat during its opening frame. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the film serves as a follow-up to his acclaimed 2010 biographical drama The Social Network. Centering on whistleblower Frances Haugen — played by Mikey Madison, and her collaboration with a reporter, played by Jeremy Allen White, to expose Facebook's internal corporate documents, the new drama earned just $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theaters.

The debut fell short of Sony's anticipated figures and marked a staggering decline compared to its predecessor, which opened with $22.6 million in North America before cruising to a massive global tally. While the original film explored the creation of Facebook with Jesse Eisenberg starring as Mark Zuckerberg, the companion piece features Jeremy Strong as an older version of the tech mogul. The Social Reckoning pulled in a B- CinemaScore from audiences, reflecting broader challenges for cinematic projects tackling contemporary political and social issues.

Stories about corporate intrigue, money and power have found a home on TV. They lack the cinematic qualities that excite big screen audiences, like emotion, spectacle and fantasy, Gross explained to The Hollywood Reporter regarding the ongoing box-office difficulties facing tech-centric features.

Film Title	Distributor	Weekend Gross (North America)	Domestic Cumulative / Status
Other Mommy	Universal Pictures / Blumhouse	$27.5 million	Opening weekend ($45.2 million worldwide)
Verity	Amazon MGM Studios	$11.4 million – $11.5 million	$53.8 million cumulative (Second weekend)
Resident Evil	Sony Pictures	$8.3 million – $8.4 million	$138.5 million cumulative (Fourth weekend)
Heart of the Beast	Paramount Pictures	$7.1 million	$49.6 million cumulative (Third weekend)
The Social Reckoning	Sony Pictures	$5.5 million	Opening weekend

Broader Box Office Landscape and Limited Releases

Elsewhere across North American cinemas, holdovers experienced varying degrees of audience retention. Amazon MGM Studios’ psychological thriller Verity, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel directed by Michael Showalter and starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, slipped to second place in its sophomore frame. Meanwhile, Sony's video game reboot Resident Evil crossed a major global milestone, bringing its worldwide cume past $300 million to stand as the franchise's highest-grossing title. Paramount's wilderness survival thriller Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt alongside a combat dog, maintained steady family and action-viewer traction in its third weekend.

Specialty and limited releases also populated the weekend slate. Bleecker Street debuted Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk across select locations in New York and Los Angeles, while A24 launched Chris Rock’s comeback drama Misty Green, starring Rosalind Eleazar, Adam Driver, and Daniel Kaluuya. Additionally, the documentary NAZA drew theatrical crowds alongside outside demonstrations organized by the Israeli-American Council outside a North Hollywood venue regarding the feature's examination of military operations.

Next Steps

As studios evaluate current audience metrics, attention shifts to upcoming theatrical inventory. Slated to arrive in cinemas next weekend are high-profile studio offerings including Street Fighter, Whalefall, and Sense and Sensibility, which will test whether broader audience momentum can rebound from the recent post-summer box office lull.