Universal’s Other Mommy is set to lead the North American weekend, but its opening carries a familiar lesson for entertainment buyers: in a review-proof genre, a low critical score does not automatically cap demand.
The horror title collected $3.6 million from Thursday previews. Universal is projecting a $20 million domestic opening from 3,200 locations, against a $19 million production budget.
Critics have not been kind. The film holds an 18 percent Rotten Tomatoes approval score. The Hollywood Reporter’s Richard Lawson described it as “an attractive but mostly vacuous collection of jumpy bits and half-baked mythology.”
Sony’s The Social Reckoning starts the frame further back. The film collected $650,000 in Thursday previews, and the studio expects around $7 million for the weekend in 2,600 theaters. That is a thin launch for a $30 million production.
Last weekend’s Tom Cruise release Digger offers a rough benchmark: it made $1.2 million in previews and finished with $8 million, at a much larger budget. The new film also carries the legacy of The Social Network, which opened with $22.4 million domestically and earned $224 million worldwide in 2010.
What the preview share says
The most useful comparison is the preview-to-weekend multiplier. Other Mommy’s $3.6 million is about 18 percent of the projected $20 million weekend; The Social Reckoning’s $650,000 is just over 9 percent of the projected $7 million. A lower preview share often signals softer walk-up business or a niche fan base, not a broad opening.
The two films are chasing different audiences. Horror can convert a low RT score into social-outing appeal, especially with young moviegoers planning Friday-night tickets. A Sorkin drama about Facebook’s past leans on older, more review-sensitive viewers, and its mixed 57 percent RT score is therefore heavier drag.
For marketers, the takeaway from these previews is that a low RT number does not erase a horror campaign; the trailer, the threat and the social outing matter more. A prestige title, by contrast, has to defend its critical credibility.
What to watch through Sunday
- Does Other Mommy hold its preview share after Thursday’s horror crowd is counted?
- Can The Social Reckoning broaden beyond first-night Sorkin loyalists?
- Will mixed reviews matter more to the adult audience than the horror audience?
Sorkin has left the door open for another Facebook chapter. “Whenever I’m done with something, I’m always like Sisyphus at the bottom of the mountain again,” he told THR. “So if a good story comes along and it takes place at Facebook, sure.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
