Other Mommy's Box Office Success Proves One Thing About Horror Movies

It was another big weekend for horror at the box office, as Blumhouse and Universal's "Other Mommy" easily took the number one spot on the charts in its debut. Rob Savage, who made his horror breakout during the pandemic lockdown with "Host," was at the helm for this one. In the process, and certainly by accident, he proved one thing about the genre with his latest feature.

"Other Mommy" opened to $27.5 million domestically to go with $17.6 million internationally for a global debut of $45.1 million. Against a reported $19 million production budget, that already makes it a win for all involved. The problem? Critics and audiences were far from kind to Savage's film, which counts modern horror expert James Wan ("Saw," "Insidious") as one of its producers.

The movie holds a lousy 16% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, along with a terrible D+ CinemaScore. That means audiences mostly hated it, too. Even so, people still showed up and paid hard-earned money to see it. It certainly doesn't hurt that Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye") is in the lead role. "Other Mommy" sees Chastain go full Pennywise in a "lackluster horror movie," according to /Film's Chris Evangelista, but that hardly mattered so far as the bottom line is concerned.

Horror has been the most reliable genre at the box office in the 2020s. More importantly? It's far more resistant to critical opinion and rough word-of-mouth than any other genre. That worked greatly to Universal's benefit, in this case.

"Other Mommy" follows young Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark) as she forms a relationship with a sinister entity in her home that looks uncannily like her own mother. The movie's cast also includes Jay Duplass ("Industry"), Dichen Lachman ("Severance"), and Karen Allen ("Raiders of the Lost Ark").

It's not as though this is a new phenomenon. For years, critics disregarded horror movies, yet they remained broadly popular. The 1980s slasher trend was proof positive of that. More recently, "Five Nights at Freddy's" became Blumhouse's biggest movie ever at the box office despite terrible reviews. Similarly, "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" defied expectations at the box office, earning far more than analysts predicted.

The difference in those cases, though, is that audiences simply disagreed with critics. Here, the vast majority of viewers of all sorts seem to be in agreement. All the same, while "Other Mommy" won't be the next "Obsession" or "Backrooms," it's still going to be a hit. That's likely because the marketing effectively sold a creepy psychological tale with a beloved actor getting to flex her chops in a leading role in an arena she's thrived in previously. Indeed, Jessica Chastain starred in both "Mama" and "It Chapter Two." Folks like to see her in the horror arena.

Audiences decided they wanted to see this movie long before reviews ever came into play. It's the Halloween season, and the trailers were strong enough to convince people it was worth their time. It's probably going to drop like a rock in weekend two, but it hardly matters at this point.

One could cite endless examples of horror movies that critics hated yet succeeded. The larger and more surprising thing is that, despite changing trends driven by streaming and the pandemic in 2020, horror continues to thrive, even when the films aren't great. Sure, "Obsession" passing the $500 million milestone with strong reviews is impressive. But it's almost more impressive when a movie with a terrible response ascends the mountain anyway.

"Other Mommy" is in theaters now.