Universal’s horror film Other Mommy fell 70.0 percent in its second weekend, earning an estimated $8.35 million from 3,370 theatres on October 16 to 18, according to Box Office Mojo. That slid it from first place to third and brought its domestic total to $44,854,440, after an opening weekend of $27,805,825 on October 9. The R-rated film runs one hour and 33 minutes, and its worldwide total has reached $78,782,440, with international markets contributing 43.1 percent. Its per-theatre average for the weekend was $2,477. The drop was the steepest among the films that were in the top 14 on both weekends.
The case that Other Mommy is still a success comes from the cumulative figures. Its domestic total of $44.9 million is about 1.6 times its opening weekend, and the film has earned $78.8 million worldwide in only two weekends, a figure that includes about $33.9 million from international markets by subtraction. The film was released in 3,370 theatres and gained five locations for its second weekend, so Universal kept faith in it. Even at $8.35 million, it earned more than Whalefall’s $8.0 million opening and Sense and Sensibility’s $7.25 million, so a film in its second week still outperformed two new releases. Its second-weekend gross was about 30 percent of its opening, and the film remained in the top three of a weekend that brought three new wide releases and a documentary, a respectable placing for a horror title in its second week.
The case that the second weekend was a disappointment is that the fall was larger than for any other film that returned in the top 14. Verity fell 48.3 percent, Resident Evil 35.8 percent and Heart of the Beast 35.1 percent, and even The Social Reckoning, which fell 69.1 percent, dropped less than Other Mommy’s 70.0 percent. The film was beaten into third place by Street Fighter’s $31.0 million and by You Can See Everything’s $15.0 million, and it finished only $0.35 million ahead of Whalefall. Within a week, the film went from first place with $27.8 million to third place with $8.35 million, which is the pattern that studios fear in a genre where audiences rush to see a film in its first days. An average of $2,477 per theatre is a long way below the $8,671 earned by the winner.
Horror films often earn most of their money in the first weekend, and the pattern matters for studios planning release schedules. Universal now has a film with nearly $79 million worldwide, 43.1 percent of it from abroad, while Columbia’s Resident Evil, another horror film, shows what a slower decline looks like, with $361.2 million worldwide after five weekends. For audiences, the numbers show that the first weekend can be a misleading guide, since the second weekend determines how long a film stays in theatres.
Other Mommy has made money, but its 70 percent fall suggests that demand was front-loaded. The film is still the third-highest earner of the weekend, and a worldwide total of $78.8 million means that the first fortnight was a commercial success even if the shape of the run was steep. The coming weekends will show whether it can hold its theatres or fade quickly.
