ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-10-12 · by LINDSEY BAHR AP film writer
"Other Mommy," a horror film starring Jessica Chastain, topped the North American box office this weekend with $27.5 million from 3,365 theaters, exceeding expectations despite negative reviews. In contrast, "The Social Reckoning," directed by Aaron Sorkin about a Facebook whistleblower, debuted at number two with $5.5 million in 2,606 theaters and received mixed-to-negative reviews.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
'Other Mommy' tops box office with $27.5M; 'The Social Reckoning' opens to $5.5M
"Other Mommy" topped the box office with a bigger audience than expected.
asserted
Mommy → top → audience
The Jessica Chastain horror “Other Mommy” topped the North American box office this weekend with a bigger audience than expected, while “The Social Reckoning” got off to a lackluster start.
asserted
Reckoning → top → start
“Other Mommy,” released by Universal Pictures, earned $27.5 million in its first few days in 3,365 theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
uncertain
Mommy → release → Sunday
The movie, about a sinister supernatural creature that terrorizes a young girl who thinks it's her mother, got dismal reviews from both critics and audiences.
asserted
it → terrorize → critics
It also joins the ranks of “Megalopolis” and “Hereditary” with a D+ CinemaScore.
asserted
It → join → CinemaScore
But with a production budget of around $19 million, it’s also another win for the horror genre and producer Blumhouse Atomic Monster, which was behind “Backrooms” and “Obsession.”
asserted
which → ’ → Backrooms
“Other Mommy” opened in 50 international markets as well, boosting its global debut to $45.2 million.
asserted
Mommy → open → million
Jim Orr, Universal's head of domestic distribution, noted that the audience gender divide was evenly split and about 2/3 were between 18 and 34 years old.
asserted
2/3 → note → distribution
“No matter how you look at it, everybody turned out for it.
asserted
everybody → look → it
It wasn’t just one particular demographic,” Orr said.
asserted
Orr → say → ?
“The Social Reckoning,” the weekend’s other big release, was not as lucky, earning an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theaters.
asserted
Reckoning → earn → theaters
Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed the film about a Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter.
asserted
who → write → reporter
Sixteen years ago, “The Social Network,” which Sorkin wrote and David Fincher directed, opened to over $22 million and went on to gross over $224 million worldwide, receiving eight Oscar nominations and winning three.
asserted
Fincher → write → three
A similar fate might be a stretch for “The Social Reckoning,” which stars Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.
uncertain
which → star → critics
Audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore.
asserted
Audiences → give → CinemaScore
According to reports, the Sony Pictures release cost around $30 million to produce, not accounting for marketing and promotion.
uncertain
release → accord → marketing
Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak’s head of marketplace trends, said October is a time when studios take chances and it doesn’t always work out.
asserted
it → say → chances
“These movies that are topical in nature, sometimes they resonate with the culture, sometimes they don’t,” said Dergarabedian.
asserted
Dergarabedian → resonate → culture
“You don’t always know what’s going to connect with audiences.”
asserted
what → know → audiences
He compared “The Social Reckoning” to “Digger,” which fell 60% in its second weekend.
asserted
which → compare → weekend
“The Social Reckoning” opened behind several holdovers as well.
asserted
Reckoning → open → holdovers
The Anne Hathaway psychological thriller “Verity” took second place with $11.5 million, down 64% from its opening weekend.
asserted
thriller → take → weekend
In third place, “Resident Evil” added $8.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $138.5 million.
asserted
Evil → add → million
The Brad Pitt survival thriller “Heart of the Beast” took fourth with $7.1 million.
asserted
thriller → take → million
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey ” also made an encore appearance in the top 10 in its 13th weekend in theaters where it was back in 12 IMAX 70 mm locations.
asserted
it → make → locations
It added $2 million from 560 North American theaters, bringing its domestic total just shy of $623 million.
asserted
It → add → million
Several high-profile films opened in limited release this weekend as well.
asserted
films → open → release
The Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Fjord” debuted on four screens this weekend where it made $124,000.
asserted
it → debut → 124,000
Alex Gibney’s Elon Musk documentary “Musk,” which runs nearly four hours, made $68,900 from four locations.
asserted
which → run → locations
And Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” made $85,716 from six locations through Sunday.
asserted
Green → make → Sunday
The annual domestic box office crossed the $8 billion mark on Friday and is up over 19% from last year.
asserted
office → cross → Friday
According to Rentrak, that’s about 8% behind 2019.
uncertain
that → accord → 2019
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1.
uncertain
list → release → Rentrak
The Aporia
