The Social Reckoning Stumbles at Box Office as Other Mommy Tops Weekend

Aaron Sorkin's new film about a Facebook whistleblower failed to connect with moviegoers this weekend, opening to an estimated $5.5 million from 2,606 North American theaters. The lackluster debut for The Social Reckoning stands in stark contrast to the performance of Sorkin's earlier tech drama, The Social Network, which launched with over $22 million in 2010 and went on to gross more than $224 million worldwide, earning eight Oscar nominations and three wins.

The Social Reckoning stars Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, and Jeremy Strong, and was written and directed by Sorkin. It depicts a Facebook whistleblower who leaked incriminating documents to a Wall Street Journal reporter. Critics gave the film mixed-to-negative reviews, and audiences assigned it a B- CinemaScore. Produced by Sony Pictures for around $30 million, not including marketing costs, the film now faces an uncertain theatrical run.

By contrast, Universal Pictures' horror film Other Mommy exceeded expectations, earning $27.5 million from 3,365 theaters in its first few days. The movie, about a sinister supernatural creature that terrorizes a young girl who believes it is her mother, received dismal reviews and a D+ CinemaScore, but its modest $19 million production budget makes it another success for the horror genre and producers Blumhouse Atomic Monster. The film also opened in 50 international markets, lifting its global debut to $45.2 million.

Jim Orr, Universal's head of domestic distribution, noted that the audience was evenly split by gender and that about two-thirds of attendees were between 18 and 34 years old. «No matter how you look at it, everybody turned out for it,» Orr said. «It wasn't just one particular demographic. That usually is a very good sign.»

Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak, said October is a time when studios take chances and results vary. «These movies that are topical in nature, sometimes they resonate with the culture, sometimes they don't,» Dergarabedian said. «You don't always know what's going to connect with audiences.» He compared The Social Reckoning to Digger, which fell 60% in its second weekend.

The Social Reckoning opened behind several holdovers. The Anne Hathaway psychological thriller Verity took second place with $11.5 million, down 64% from its opening weekend. Resident Evil added $8.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $138.5 million. The Brad Pitt survival thriller Heart of the Beast took fourth with $7.1 million. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey returned to the top 10 in its 13th weekend, adding $2 million from 560 North American theaters and bringing its domestic total just shy of $623 million.

Several high-profile films opened in limited release. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner Fjord debuted on four screens with $124,000. Alex Gibney's nearly four-hour Elon Musk documentary Musk made $68,900 from four locations, and Chris Rock's Misty Green earned $85,716 from six locations through Sunday.

The annual domestic box office crossed the $8 billion mark on Friday and is up over 19% from last year, though it remains about 8% behind 2019 levels, according to Rentrak. Final domestic figures are due Monday.

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Connor Quincy

Technology Reporter

Connor Quincy covers public affairs, politics, business, culture and daily news for Core Memo. The role focuses on verification, context, and clear explanations for readers.

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