This weekend we witnessed the return of a genre previously believed to be extinct: the horribly reviewed horror hit.
Yes, our number one movie is Other Mommy (was Other Mother copyrighted thanks to Coraline?), with a strong $27 million against an absolutely abysmal reception from critics and a “D+” CinemaScore from audiences. So why are people flocking to this one, I hear the snooty cinema engagement-bait accounts on social media ask? Other Mommy had one hell of a trailer. It drew an audible shriek from the person sitting in my seat before The Odyssey this summer, and really, this was the sort of outing that dominated the box office in the mid-2000s. Nature is healing.
Is Other Mommy going to lose custody of her children next weekend? Maybe. Really, we have a fairly quiet October this year. Street Fighter, which seemed like a surefire hit when it was first announced, is tracking poorly. Clayface—which might end up being another early nail in the coffin for the wannabe DCU—isn’t faring much better. Does this mean Other Mommy could still leg out due to a lack of interest in its competition? Who knows.
What we do know is that no one wanted The Social Reckoning, which was doomed the instant Jesse Eisenberg refused to return. It’s not trending anywhere with an opening of just $4 million. Ouch. Let’s be real, a sequel to The Social Network (I don’t care what the director says; it is a sequel, just as The Suicide Squad was a sequel; quit pretending your movies aren’t sequels when they indisputably are!) was always going to be a tough. The original worked because it was about kids too young to realize the full impact of what they were getting themselves into, and was really an untold story. Reckoning covers a scandal that got a ton of coverage from the press, which isn’t exactly an easy way to shill out tickets (also Zuckerberg’s PR reputation has sunk a lot since The Social Network came out).
Meanwhile Digger might be finding fans, but not enough to dig it out of its hole. The only comfort I take from it underperforming is that I can now say with confidence that Masters of the Universe is no longer the biggest financial bomb of the year (although The Bride! was already a contender for that title). So that’s nice at least. Digger made only $3 million in its second frame. Ugh.
Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline
1. Other Mommy (Universal), 3,365 theaters Fri $12.6M Sat $8.95M Sun $5.95M 3-day $27.5M/Wk 1
2. Hey! It’s Me! I’m Verity! (Amazon MGM), 3,572 theaters Fri $4M Sat $4.4M Sun $3.1M 3-day $11.5M (-64%) Total $53.9M/Wk 2
3. Resident Evil (Sony), 3,085 theaters, Fri $2.32M Sat $3.49M Sun $2.53, 3-day $8.35M (-35%) Total $138.5M/Wk 4
4 Heart Of The Beast (Paramount) 3,365 theaters Fri $1.9M Sat $3M Sun $2M 3-day $7.1M (-35%) Total $49.6MM/Wk 3
5. The Social Reckoning (Sony) 2,606 theaters Fri $2.25M Sat $1.76M Sun $1.49M 3-day $5.5M/Wk 1
6. Forgotten Island (Universal) 2,898 theaters Fri $1.1M Sat $1.9M Sat $1.5M 3-day $4.5M (-38%) Total $30.3M/Wk 3
7. Primetime (A24) 2,269 theaters Fri $1.26M Sat $1.57M Sun $1.18M 3-day $4M (-48% Total $41M/Wk 3
8. Digger (Warner Bros.) 3,321 theaters Fri $9757K Sat $1.3M Sun $915K 3-day $3.2M (-60%) Total $14.4M/Wk 2
9. Angel And The Bad Man (Angel Studios) 2,263 Fri $935K Sat $671k Sun $457k 3-day$2.06M/Wk 1
10. The Odyssey (Universal) 560 theaters, Fri $530k $840k $630k 3-day $2M (+54%) $623M/Wk 13
