The Jessica Chastain horror film "Other Mommy" topped the North American box office this weekend, outperforming expectations for its audience turnout. Meanwhile, another major release, "The Social Reckoning", fell short of expectations with a lukewarm response.

"Other Mommy," distributed by Universal Pictures, earned an impressive $27.5 million in its opening weekend across 3,365 theaters, as reported by studio estimates. The film revolves around a sinister supernatural creature that haunts a young girl under the delusion that it is her mother. Despite substantial box office earnings, Other Mommy received poor reviews, with a notably low CinemaScore rating of D+, aligning it with other films like "Megalopolis" and "Hereditary."

With a production budget estimated at $19 million, "Other Mommy" symbolizes another success story for the horror genre and the producer Blumhouse Atomic Monster, previously known for hits like "Backrooms" and "Obsession." The film debuted in 50 international markets, raising its global debut revenue to $45.2 million.

Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution, shared insights about the film's audience demographics, stating that the turnout was evenly represented across genders with about two-thirds of the audience aged 18 to 34. Orr noted, "No matter how you look at it, everybody turned out for it. It wasn’t just one particular demographic. That usually is a very good sign."

On the other hand, "The Social Reckoning," directed and written by Aaron Sorkin, struggled at the box office, bringing in an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 theaters in North America. The film narrates the story of a Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating documents to a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. In stark contrast, "The Social Network," also penned by Sorkin and directed by David Fincher 16 years ago, opened with over $22 million and accrued more than $224 million globally after receiving critical acclaim and multiple Oscars.

"The Social Reckoning," featuring actors Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, and Jeremy Strong, was met with mixed-to-negative reviews, earning a B- CinemaScore from audiences. With a production budget around $30 million, not including marketing expenses, the film's future at the box office appears bleak.

Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, mentioned that October is a month when studios take risks, which can be a double-edged sword. "These movies that are topical in nature, sometimes they resonate with the culture, sometimes they don’t," he explained. He compared "The Social Reckoning" to "Digger," which faced a 60% drop in its second weekend's earnings.

The overall box office performance remains strong. "The Social Reckoning" not only debuted behind several holdovers but also faced competition from other films. The Anne Hathaway-led psychological thriller "Verity" claimed second place with earnings of $11.5 million, experiencing a significant drop of 64% from its opening weekend. Additional competitors included "Resident Evil," which added $8.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $138.5 million, and the survival thriller "Heart of the Beast," securing fourth place with $7.1 million.

Interestingly, Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" made a notable encore appearance in the top 10 during its 13th weekend in theaters, accumulating $2 million from 560 locations and bringing its total earnings to just shy of $623 million.

Several limited-release films also made their debuts over the weekend. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Fjord" opened on four screens, earning $124,000. Meanwhile, Alex Gibney's nearly four-hour long documentary "Musk" garnered $68,900 from four locations, and Chris Rock's film "Misty Green" collected $85,716 from six locations over the same period.

As a notable achievement, the annual domestic box office crossed the $8 billion mark on Friday, indicating a 19% increase from the previous year but remaining about 8% behind pre-pandemic figures seen in 2019.

In summary, the top 10 movies at the North American box office from Friday through Sunday, based on estimated ticket sales reported by Rentrak, are as follows:

• 1. "Other Mommy," $27.5 million.
• 2. "Verity," $11.5 million.
• 3. "Resident Evil," $8.4 million.
• 4. "Heart of the Beast," $7.1 million.
• 5. "The Social Reckoning," $5.5 million.
• 6. "Forgotten Island," $4.5 million.
• 7. "Primetime," $4 million.
• 8. "Digger," $3.2 million.
• 9. "Angel and the Badman," $2.1 million.
• 10. "The Odyssey," $2 million.

Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press