Jessica Chastain’s Other Mommy is scaring up a No. 1 opening at the box office.
The horror film is tracking for $17 million to $22 million, even though Universal has held it back from most critics until the last minute. A full review consensus has yet to emerge, but some viewers who attended early screenings have called it Chastain’s worst movie in years. Universal cut one hell of a trailer and stuck it in front of The Odyssey in July. That may be all this needed.
Universal and Blumhouse’s Atomic Monster have the calendar on their side with Other Mommy, which arrives three weeks before Halloween. Rob Savage directs Chastain in a dual role as a mother stalked by a sinister doppelgänger targeting her 8-year-old daughter. The film cost just $18 million, so a $20 million start would already count as a win. Chastain isn’t new to the genre: Mama opened to $28.4 million in 2013, while It Chapter Two debuted to $91 million in 2019.
Verity is expected to take second place in its sophomore frame with $12 million to $16 million. Anne Hathaway’s Colleen Hoover adaptation opened to $32.6 million last weekend, but a C-plus CinemaScore suggests a drop of 50% or more. The film has already earned $34 million domestically and $65 million worldwide against a $40 million budget.
Sony’s The Social Reckoning is projected to follow with $7 million to $8 million. The Social Network opened to $22 million nearly 16 years ago and won four Oscars, including one for Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay. This time, Jeremy Strong plays Mark Zuckerberg, Mikey Madison portrays the whistleblower leaking internal documents, and Jeremy Allen White plays the reporter pursuing the story.
David Fincher and Jesse Eisenberg both sat this one out, and Sony has been careful to describe the film as a companion piece rather than a sequel. Reviews are mixed, with a 59% score on Rotten Tomatoes — a long way from the original’s 96%.
Resident Evil is expected to land in fourth place with about $7 million in its fourth weekend. Zach Cregger’s reboot just opened in China to $35 million and has surpassed $280 million worldwide, making it the biggest hit of his career.
Heart of the Beast is projected to round out the top five with about $6 million. Brad Pitt’s survival drama has now crossed $100 million worldwide.
We have our eyes on a few other films outside the top five. Digger is projected to add about $4 million after an $8 million start that ranks among the worst openings of Tom Cruise’s career. Alex Gibney’s Musk arrives in limited release from Bleecker Street, and A24 opens Chris Rock’s Misty Green with Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, and Anna Kendrick. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey returns to Imax and 70mm, Angel Studios opens the Tommy Lee Jones Western Angel and the Badman, and Fathom brings Guillermo del Toro’s three-time Oscar winner Pan’s Labyrinth back for its 20th anniversary. Neon will also open Palme d’Or winner Fjord in four theaters in Los Angeles and New York.
Here are Gold Derby’s predicted box-office rankings for the top five films over the Oct. 9-11 weekend:
- Other Mommy — $21 million
- Verity — $15 million
- The Social Reckoning — $8 million
- Resident Evil — $7 million
- Heart of the Beast — $6 million
Check back Sunday for the actuals and to see how they compared with our predictions.
New releases
Other Mommy
Director: Rob Savage
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Bela, an 8-year-old girl living in a home with marital problems, confronts a sinister entity that comes out of her closet. The presence, which she calls “Other Mommy,” becomes increasingly threatening to her and her family. The horror film has a running time of one hour, 33 minutes, and is rated R. As of this writing, Other Mommy had no consensus reviews on Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic.
The Social Reckoning
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Distributor: Sony
Follows Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer, who enlisted the help of Jeff Horwitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter, to blow the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets. The dramatic thriller has a running time of one hour, 52 minutes, and is rated R. The Social Reckoning is certified “rotten” with a 59% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “mixed” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 44.
Misty Green
Director: Chris Rock
Distributor: A24
Years after her Hollywood breakthrough, a talented actress whose career has stalled fights for her second act. The drama has a running time of one hour, 43 minutes, and is rated R. Misty Green is certified “rotten” with a 57% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 68.
Fjord
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Distributor: Neon
An immigrant Romanian family living in Norway is subject to an investigation and faces the scrutiny of the local judicial system. The drama has a running time of two hours, 26 minutes. Fjord is certified “fresh” with a 92% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 79.
2026 box office hits: Every movie that made more than $100 million
