Other Mommy tipped for $20M US opening; The Social Reckoning projected at $7-8M

Mixed · 2Deadline and Variety both project that Other Mommy, a Jessica Chastain horror film directed by Rob Savage, will take first place at the North American box office this weekend with an opening of about $20 million or more from 3,200 theatres. 1 2 Mixed · 2Both outlets call that a solid start given the film's cost: Deadline puts its net budget at $19 million, while Variety says it was made for $18 million. 1 2 Mixed · 2Deadline notes that Other Mommy comes from Blumhouse, Atomic Monster and Universal, has premium large-format screens, and had no Rotten Tomatoes critics score yet. It says the best audiences are women under 25 and men over 25, running ahead of The End of Oak Street at the same point before its $21 million opening. Variety says James Wan produced the film. 1 2

Mixed · 2Sony's The Social Reckoning, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, is expected to open far lower. Variety reports a target of $7 million to $8 million in North America, and Deadline forecasts a mid-single-digit debut at 2,200 theatres, perhaps near the $8 million of Tom Cruise's Digger. 2 1 Mixed · 2The film is a follow-up to 2010's The Social Network, with Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. Mikey Madison plays a Facebook whistleblower who leaks internal documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter played by Jeremy Allen White. Variety says David Fincher and Jesse Eisenberg did not return and that Sony calls the film a "companion piece" rather than a sequel. Deadline names the whistleblower as Frances Haugen. 2 1 Mixed · 2The original opened to $22 million about 16 years ago, according to Variety, and grossed $224 million worldwide. Deadline says it has a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score, against 64% so far for the new film. Variety describes reviews of the new film as mixed. 2 1

Mixed · 2Both outlets say the production cost limits the downside: Variety puts it at a modest $30 million, and Deadline at $30M-$42M net before marketing, with Alcon co-financing. Variety adds that adult dramas have struggled to draw crowds since COVID. Deadline says the film faces competition from NEON's OpenAI drama Artificial, which opens on Christmas Day. 2 1 Mixed · 2Among holdovers, Amazon MGM's Verity is expected to fall in its second weekend. Deadline forecasts a drop of at least 60% to about $12 million, after a C+ CinemaScore, and Variety forecasts a 50% to 60% drop to $13 million to $16 million. The two outlets differ on its domestic total, which is $37.9 million through Tuesday in Deadline and $34 million in Variety. 1 2 Left · 1Variety says Digger is on course for a second-weekend gross of about $4 million, a 50% drop from its $8 million start. It describes the film as shaping up to be a historic bomb on a budget above $160 million, and notes that Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is returning to Imax and 70mm screens. Deadline also cites Digger as a flop. 2

Centre · 1Other openings include Angel Studios' western Angel and the Badman at 2,000 theatres and a Fathom re-release of Pan's Labyrinth at 1,008 sites. NEON's Palme d'Or winner Fjord opens in four theatres. Deadline attributes the lack of a big tentpole to baseball playoffs and the NFL competing for audiences. 1