Jessica Chastain’s ‘Other Mommy’ Earns a Rare D+ From Audiences — and Still Tops the Box Office
The horror film received the worst CinemaScore audience grade for any movie in two years, according to The Hollywood Reporter, yet grossed $12.6 million on its opening day and is on track for a $25–30 million opening weekend against a production budget of about $19 million.
Audiences rejected “Other Mommy” — and showed up anyway. Jessica Chastain’s new horror film opened at No. 1 at the North American box office this weekend, even as moviegoers gave it a D+ CinemaScore, the worst audience grade for any movie in two years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film grossed $12.6 million on its opening day, including Thursday night previews, according to data from Box Office Mojo. The Hollywood Reporter projects the film will finish its opening weekend at $28 million; other industry projections put the three-day domestic total between $25 million and $30 million.
Audience rejection, commercial success
The D+ grade marks the lowest CinemaScore for any film since the flop “Megalopolis” in 2024. The movie also holds an 18% rating from critics and a 46% rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows Bela, a young girl who forms a bond with a sinister entity in her home that looks uncannily like her mother; Chastain stars in dual roles as Bela’s mother, Ursula, and as the entity known as “Other Mommy.”
A cheap bet that paid off
Whatever viewers thought of the film, the economics were on the studio’s side from the start: “Other Mommy” cost only about $18 million to $19 million to produce, meaning it could reach its break-even point by the end of its opening weekend. The question now is whether the strong opening can survive poor word of mouth in the weeks ahead.
Reporting based on coverage by Just Jared, The Hollywood Reporter and Zoom TV.
