InvestReports disagree2 publishers2 min readPublished Updated
Other Mommy, made for $19 million, out-opened Sony's $30 million The Social Reckoning five to one
Universal's Other Mommy opened to $27.5 million in North America, five times the $5.5 million that Sony's The Social Reckoning took. Against reported budgets of $19 million and $30 million, the first gross was 1.45 times cost for the horror film and 0.18 times for the drama.
The Investor · Invest desk
Other Mommy averaged about $8,172 per theater; The Social Reckoning about $2,110. Other Mommy opened to $27.5 million in North America (studio estimates), The Social Reckoning to an estimated $5.5 million. Other Mommy's global debut was $45.2 million.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other Mommy average per theater | $8,172 about | 20 | |
| Reckoning per theater | $2,110 about | 21 | |
| Other Mommy NA opening | $27.5 million | 1 | |
| Reckoning NA opening | $5.5 million est. | 5 | |
| Other Mommy global debut | $45.2 million | 3 |
What happened
- The Social Reckoning ranked fifth for the weekend, behind Verity's $11.5 million in second place.
- Critics gave The Social Reckoning mixed-to-negative reviews, and audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore.
- Sixteen years ago The Social Network opened to over $22 million and went on to gross over $224 million worldwide.
Why it matters
- cost To match its reported production cost on North American gross alone, The Social Reckoning has to gross about 5.45 times its opening weekend [d8], and that is before marketing is counted [c7].
- contradiction Universal's Jim Orr read the broad audience as a good sign, saying "That usually is a very good sign" [c5], while the audience's own grade for Other Mommy was a D+ [c4].
- constraint With the annual domestic box office up over 19% from last year [c15], a soft market cannot account for the lackluster start of Sony's film.
Screen count is the first objection, and it explains little. Other Mommy played in 3,365 theaters and The Social Reckoning in 2,606 [1][5], so the horror film had 29% more screens [19] and took five times the money [16]. Per theater that is about $8,172 against $2,110 [20][21], a ratio of 3.9 to one [22].
The budget gap is smaller than the opening gap. The reported costs, about $19 million and, according to reports, about $30 million before marketing and promotion [30][6], differ by $11 million [28], while the openings differ by $22 million [29]. Measured against production cost, Other Mommy's North American opening was 1.45 times its budget [17], and 2.4 times once $17.7 million from its international markets is added [24][25]. The Social Reckoning's was 0.18 times [18]. The film, which Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed [15], opened at under a quarter of The Social Network's opening in nominal dollars [27].
Our view is that the horror film won both the weekend and the cost comparison, with the caveat that a gross is not a return. The report excludes marketing from Sony's $30 million [6], gives no marketing figure for Universal's film and no international figure for Sony's, so the return side of the claim is open. The counter-case is a second weekend in which the horror film fades faster and the drama holds.
The report supplies benchmarks to test that. Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, said October is a time when studios take chances and it doesn't always work out [11]. "These movies that are topical in nature, sometimes they resonate with the culture, sometimes they don't," Dergarabedian said [10]. He compared The Social Reckoning with Digger, which fell 60% in its second weekend [12], and the same drop would leave Sony's film about $2.2 million [32]. Verity fell 64% [13]; the same fall would leave Other Mommy about $9.9 million [31], and it would have to lose 92% to land at $2.2 million [33].
What to watch
- Second-weekend figures for both films: Other Mommy against Verity's 64% drop, The Social Reckoning against Digger's 60%.
- Monday's final domestic figures, which replace Sunday's studio estimates for both openings.
- Any marketing spend or international gross disclosed for either film, which would settle the return question the opening cannot.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption50
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives35
- Confidence72
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers- Builder
- Builder 25%
- Operator
- Operator 24%
- Investor
- Investor 51%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Other Mommy, released by Universal Pictures, earned $27.5 million in its first few days in 3,365 North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
- [2]
Other Mommy got dismal reviews from both critics and audiences and a D+ CinemaScore, the same grade as Megalopolis and Hereditary.
- [3]
Other Mommy opened in 50 international markets, which boosted its global debut to $45.2 million.
- [4]
"No matter how you look at it, everybody turned out for it. It wasn't just one particular demographic," Orr said. "That usually is a very good sign." Jim Orr is Universal's head of domestic distribution.
ReportedSupportedSource: Jim Orr, Universal's head of domestic distribution2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [5]
The Social Reckoning earned an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theaters.
- [6]
According to reports, the Sony Pictures release The Social Reckoning cost around $30 million to produce, not accounting for marketing and promotion.
ReportedSupportedSource: reports cited by Fortune2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [7]
Sixteen years ago, The Social Network opened to over $22 million and went on to gross over $224 million worldwide.
- [8]
The Social Reckoning received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and a B- CinemaScore from audiences.
- [9]
The Social Reckoning ranked fifth in the weekend top 10; Verity took second place with $11.5 million.
- [10]
"These movies that are topical in nature, sometimes they resonate with the culture, sometimes they don't," said Dergarabedian. "You don't always know what's going to connect with audiences."
ReportedSupportedSource: Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's head of marketplace trends2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [11]
Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, said October is a time when studios take chances and it doesn't always work out.
ReportedSupportedSource: Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [12]
Dergarabedian compared The Social Reckoning to Digger, which fell 60% in its second weekend.
- [13]
Verity's $11.5 million weekend was down 64% from its opening weekend.
- [14]
The annual domestic box office crossed the $8 billion mark on Friday and is up over 19% from last year, according to Rentrak.
- [15]
Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed The Social Reckoning.
- [16]
Other Mommy's domestic opening was five times The Social Reckoning's.
- [17]
Other Mommy's North American opening was 1.45 times its production budget.
- [18]
The Social Reckoning's opening was 0.18 times its reported production cost.
- [19]
Other Mommy played in about 29% more theaters than The Social Reckoning.
- [20]
Other Mommy averaged about $8,172 per theater.
- [21]
The Social Reckoning averaged about $2,110 per theater.
- [22]
Other Mommy's per-theater average was about 3.9 times The Social Reckoning's.
- [23]
To match its reported production cost on North American gross alone, The Social Reckoning needs about 5.45 times its opening weekend.
- [24]
Other Mommy took about $17.7 million outside North America in its opening.
- [25]
Other Mommy's global debut was about 2.4 times its production budget.
- [26]
Other Mommy's reported budget is about 37% lower than The Social Reckoning's.
- [27]
The Social Reckoning's $5.5 million opening is under a quarter of The Social Network's opening in nominal dollars, since that opening was over $22 million.
- [28]
The reported budgets differ by $11 million.
- [29]
The two openings differ by $22 million.
- [30]
Other Mommy had a production budget of around $19 million.
- [31]
A 64% second-weekend drop would leave Other Mommy about $9.9 million.
- [32]
A 60% second-weekend drop would leave The Social Reckoning about $2.2 million.
- [33]
Other Mommy would need to fall about 92% to reach $2.2 million in its second weekend.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- abcnews.com'Other Mommy' tops box office with $27.5M; 'The Social Reckoning' opens to $5.5M - ABC News
1 article · October 11, 2026
- fortune.comThe movie about a Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating details disappoints, and ‘The Social Reckoning’ will likely lag ‘The Social Network’
1 article · October 11, 2026
- gizmodo.com‘Other Mommy’ Is a Bad Movie Already Making Big Bucks
1 article · October 12, 2026
- variety.comThe Social Reckoning
1 article · October 12, 2026
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