Other Mommy expected to outpace Sorkin's sequel The Social Reckoning at the box office
Sony's The Social Reckoning, a low-budget sequel to The Social Network, is projected to open with about $7 million, while Universal's horror film Other Mommy aims for a $20 million debut and is likely to claim the top spot.
Sony Pictures will release The Social Reckoning, a sequel to the 2010 film The Social Network, in roughly 2,200 North American theaters this weekend. The studio forecasts an opening weekend gross of around $7 million for the Aaron Sorkin-written and directed thriller, which was made on a $30 million budget and stars Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong. The film follows a Facebook employee who joins forces with a journalist to expose alleged misconduct at the company.
The original Social Network opened on Oct. 1, 2010, earned $22.4 million in its first weekend and eventually grossed $224 million worldwide, winning three Academy Awards. In contrast, The Social Reckoning holds a 60 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney described it as an “engrossing whistleblower thriller.”
Other new releases this season focus on technology companies, including documentaries about Elizabeth Holmes and Elon Musk, as well as Luca Guadagnino’s film about OpenAI.
Universal Pictures is launching the horror film Other Mommy, starring Jessica Chastain, in about 3,200 theaters with a projected $20 million opening. Director Rob Savage’s $19 million-budget movie centers on a malevolent presence in a young girl’s closet. The studio has noted strong audience interest since the trailer debuted over the summer.
“The news about these companies is as urgent as ever, but they are still stories about corporate power, control and money,” said David A. Gross of the box-office newsletter FranchiseRe.
Competing for female audiences seeking thrills is Amazon MGM Studios’ Verity, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. Despite a low CinemaScore and a 33 percent critics rating, Verity opened with $32 million, outpacing other releases such as Tom Cruise’s Digger.