Other Mommy Tops Box Office With $27.5M Debut

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Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster's horror film Other Mommy topped the North American box office over the October 9-11 weekend with an estimated $27.5 million. Starring Jessica Chastain, the film added about $17.7 million from international markets for a global opening of around $45.1 million, according to Screen Daily. The debut more than doubled the takings of the second-placed film in North America, Amazon MGM Studios' Verity, which made about $11.5 million in its second weekend. A frightening premise Directed by Rob Savage and produced by horror heavyweight James Wan, Other Mommy adapts Josh Malerman's novel Incidents Around the House. Chastain stars as the title character, a sinister entity who is indistinguishable from the real mother of an eight-year-old girl, played by Arabella Olivia Clark. Malerman is best known as the author of Bird Box, which became a hit Netflix film, while Savage made his name with the lockdown-era horror Host and later The Boogeyman. Wan, the creator behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring series, brings his Atomic Monster banner, which merged with Blumhouse in 2024. Reviews versus results NBC News noted that the film led the weekend despite poor reviews, a familiar pattern for horror. The genre has some of the most loyal audiences in cinema, and fans often turn out on opening weekend regardless of what critics say. Strong start overseas Internationally, Other Mommy topped the local charts in its three leading markets: the UK and Ireland (an estimated $2.6 million), Italy ($2.2 million) and Mexico ($1.9 million). Australia ($1.1 million), Spain ($986,000) and Brazil ($751,000) followed. Screen reported that, across the international markets released so far, the opening is ahead of debuts for recent horror hits including M3GAN, The Black Phone and Smile. Key territories have yet to open: France arrives this week, Germany on October 29, and South Korea and Japan in November. A profitable bet With a production budget reported at around $18 million to $19 million, Other Mommy is already on track to become another profitable title for Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster. Low-cost, high-concept horror has been one of Hollywood's most dependable business models, and this release fits the formula. For Chastain, the Oscar-winning star of The Eyes of Tammy Faye, the film marks a rare turn in mainstream studio horror. Her presence gave the marketing a prestige touch that many genre releases lack. The wider weekend Globally, Other Mommy finished second behind Sony's Resident Evil, which took $62.6 million worldwide on the back of a $40.6 million opening in China. Sony's other new release, Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning, struggled with $5.5 million in North America. Warner Bros' Digger, covered in our earlier Tom Cruise report , continued to fade with $9.6 million worldwide. In Nigeria, meanwhile, local productions led the weekend chart. BusinessDay reported that Agbara Nla: The Return took N99.8 million, ahead of Black Market with N16 million, with three Nollywood titles finishing above Hollywood releases. Horror's reliable audience Horror has been one of the most dependable genres at the box office in recent years, delivering strong openings on modest budgets. Universal and Blumhouse have built a business around that model, releasing a steady stream of mid-budget scary films that rarely need huge grosses to turn a profit. With October being peak season for the genre, Other Mommy arrived at exactly the right moment, and its opening is likely to encourage the studio to keep investing in high-concept horror built around recognisable stars. The film's international performance also matters. Horror often travels well because scares need little translation, and the strong UK, Italian and Mexican starts suggest Other Mommy could build a sizeable global total before its run ends. What's next With Halloween approaching and several major markets still to open, Other Mommy is well placed for a long run through late October. A strong second weekend in North America would confirm it as the season's horror hit, and could prompt Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster to look at more adaptations of Malerman's work. Sources: Screen Daily | NBC News | BusinessDay