The Other Mommy box office story opened with a number: Variety’s headline reports $3.6 million in Thursday previews for Universal’s Jessica Chastain horror film. That is a solid start, but previews are only the first chapter, and the real answer arrives when final weekend numbers land on Sunday.
Here is what the early signals say, what analysts project, how the film’s rivals stack up, and what a roughly $20 million opening would actually mean. Weekend numbers are estimates until the studios report, so treat every figure below as a projection unless noted.
Other Mommy Box Office: What the Thursday Previews Tell Us
Other Mommy, directed by Rob Savage and rated R, opens this weekend (Oct. 9-11). According to the headline of Variety’s box office report, the film made $3.6 million in Thursday previews.
We have only the headline, so we cannot confirm the details behind it. That includes the number of theaters, whether the total counts early shows, and how it compares with other horror titles. We will not guess at those details here.
Previews are a useful but imperfect guide. They capture the most eager fans, often the opening-night crowd, and they do not always predict how a weekend ends. Horror titles in particular can lean heavily on that first wave of buyers.
Headlines from Deadline, Gold Derby and Yahoo point the same direction. They say Other Mommy is heading to No. 1 and that The Social Reckoning is lagging, with one describing a “horror show” for the Sony film. Again, these are headlines only, and actual weekend totals are not yet in.
The Projections: From $17 Million to $31 Million
Forecasters do not agree on how big this opening will be. Here is how the main projections line up.
- Deadline: about $20 million from roughly 3,200 theaters.
- Boxoffice Pro: $17 million to $22 million. Its weekend preview says industry tracking was once as high as $35 million, but its panel sees “low-$20Ms at best.”
- Box Office Theory: $31 million, the most optimistic number we found.
The spread is large. A $17 million result and a $31 million result would tell very different stories about the film’s appeal. Our earlier Other Mommy box office preview looked at a lower range, and the newest forecasts have shifted upward.
The gap between the early tracking peak of $35 million and the panel’s cooler view is worth noting. Tracking is a survey-based estimate of interest, and it can run hot when a film looks promising but has not yet sold tickets. Previews and presales are the first hard evidence.
What a $20 Million Opening Would Mean
Context is everything with an Other Mommy box office number, so here are the comparisons. The film stars Jessica Chastain and comes from Rob Savage, whose past horror releases give us two comparison points.
- The Boogeyman: $12.35 million opening and $43.2 million total.
- Send Help: $19.1 million opening and $64.7 million total.
For Other Mommy box office watchers, the comparison is useful. A $20 million debut would edge past Send Help and clearly beat The Boogeyman. If Other Mommy’s total followed the pattern of those two films, which is not guaranteed, the opening would be a strong launch rather than a final result.
Those comparisons come with a caution. Every release has a different audience, a different release date and different competition. They are reference points, not predictions of how this film will finish.
A $20 million Other Mommy box office opening also helps with the narrative of the weekend. It would likely secure the top spot, which is what the headlines are already suggesting, and it would give Universal a visible win in a crowded October.
It is also worth remembering how opening weekends are reported. Studios publish Sunday estimates first, and actual figures arrive on Monday, so small changes are normal. A film that looks like it will land at $20 million on Sunday morning can shift by a few hundred thousand dollars once the final counts are in.
The Social Reckoning: A Sequel Arriving Late
The weekend’s other major opener is Sony’s The Social Reckoning, with Jeremy Strong playing Mark Zuckerberg and Aaron Sorkin writing. It arrives 16 years after The Social Network.
The projections are modest. Deadline sees about $8 million from 2,200 locations, while Boxoffice Pro has $6 million to $10 million. For comparison, The Social Network opened to $22.4 million, earned eight Oscar nominations and finished with $96.96 million domestic.
Critics are also less enthusiastic. The sequel sits at 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with 96% for the original. For more on the numbers, read our deeper look at why Sony’s sequel is tracking just $6M-$10M.
The takeaway for Other Mommy box office followers is simple: the two films are not really competing for the same audience, since one is an R-rated horror film and the other is a prestige drama. Even so, headlines will frame them as a head-to-head race for No. 1.
Verity Second Weekend and Other Openers
Verity, the Amazon MGM thriller starring Anne Hathaway, is in its second weekend. It opened to $32 million with an audience that was 78% female and a C+ CinemaScore, according to the figures we have.
Projections for the second frame vary. Deadline expects about $12 million, a drop of 60%. Boxoffice Pro is more optimistic at $15 million to $20 million. Our Verity second weekend forecast covers whether a C+ score can hold up.
Two smaller releases also arrive. Angel and the Badman, from Angel Studios, opens in about 2,000 locations. Fathom is bringing a 20th anniversary re-release of Pan’s Labyrinth to about 1,000 venues. These are unlikely to challenge for the top spot, but they can affect the lower half of the chart.
Why the Other Mommy Box Office Number Matters
An Other Mommy box office result in the low $20 millions would be a healthy opening for an R-rated, original-feeling horror film, and it would show that star-led thrillers can still pull audiences to theaters.
A result closer to $17 million would still be respectable by the standards of Savage’s earlier films, but it would sit at the low end of expectations. A result near $30 million would suggest word-of-mouth or marketing momentum that analysts had underestimated.
The final Other Mommy box office story also depends on audience reaction. We do not yet know how audiences will react. No CinemaScore or audience score has been reported in the material we reviewed, and that grade often shapes a horror film’s second weekend. We will not guess at it.
One more reason the Other Mommy box office total will be closely watched is theater count. With roughly 3,200 locations projected by Deadline, the film has wide reach, so its per-theater average will matter less than the overall weekend gross. Wide releases live or die on whether the crowd keeps coming after the first weekend, and that is the real test of any horror title.
Other Mommy Box Office: What to Watch on Sunday
Final numbers arrive Sunday, and these are the points to check when they do.
- Friday total versus previews. Does the reported $3.6 million in previews turn into a strong Friday, or does the film front-load?
- Weekend total versus the range. Does the Other Mommy box office total land near Deadline’s $20 million, below Boxoffice Pro’s range, or toward Box Office Theory’s $31 million?
- Audience grade. A CinemaScore will hint at how the film holds next weekend.
- The Social Reckoning’s showing. Does it reach the projected $6 million to $10 million, or fall short?
- Verity’s drop. Is the second weekend closer to a 60% fall or a gentler one?
Bottom Line
The Other Mommy box office picture is promising but unfinished: a reported $3.6 million in Thursday previews, projections between $17 million and $31 million, and headlines pointing to No. 1. Everything else is a forecast until Sunday.
Actionable takeaway: if you plan to see it, check showtimes early, since horror openings often draw crowds on Friday and Saturday nights. If you follow box office, wait for Sunday’s actuals before drawing conclusions, and compare them with the ranges above. Stay tuned to USA One News for the final weekend numbers.
