Other Mommy has landed in theaters with a thunderous box office debut but a critical thud. The Jessica Chastain-led horror film from director Rob Savage opened to an estimated $27.5 million domestically, yet finds itself buried under some of the worst reviews of the year, including an 18% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, a D+ CinemaScore, and widespread criticism that its promised scares simply never arrive. The film, based on Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel Incidents Around the House, stars Chastain in dual roles as both a protective mother and the sinister entity wearing her face. Here is everything you need to know about the film’s release, its rocky reception, and where you can watch it.
What Other Mommy Is About and Who Stars in It
Other Mommy follows Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), an eight-year-old girl who is haunted by a demonic presence that takes the form of her own mother, Ursula (Jessica Chastain). The entity, known as “Other Mommy,” lurks in Bela’s closet and asks her a chilling question: “Can I go inside your heart?”
The film is adapted from Josh Malerman’s 2024 novel Incidents Around the House, which tells the story from Bela’s perspective as her family’s marriage crumbles and the supernatural threat escalates.
Jessica Chastain plays both Ursula and the Other Mommy entity, a dual role that reviewers have noted as the film’s most committed element even when the surrounding material fails. The supporting cast includes Jay Duplass as Bela’s father Russell, Dichen Lachman as paranormal scientist Lois Anthony, Arian Moayed as family friend Uncle Frank, and Karen Allen as grandmother Ruth.
Director Rob Savage, known for Host and The Boogeyman, helmed the project from a screenplay by Nathan Elston. Filming took place in Dublin, Ireland, from May to July 2025.
Critical Reception: A Near-Unanimous Thumbs Down
Reviewers have not been kind. The film holds an 18% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 50 reviews, with a 46% audience score from more than 500 ratings.
Variety’s review called it “among the most limp and ineffectual works to grace the screen this year, misfiring in every direction.” The review pointed out that the film “plays, at times, as though a horror comedy in the vein of Sam Raimi had been recut at the 11th hour,” and described an “endless litany of numbing jump scares that grow quickly stale.”
ScreenRant wrote that “nothing is scary about Other Mommy, and only the film’s very first sequence is even slightly creepy,” criticising the story for revealing its hand too early and stripping away any mystery.
The Hollywood Reporter gathered early reactions including one from The Jam Report, which stated: “An excruciating parade of ineffective jump scares, woeful CGI, and increasingly nonsensical storytelling, Other Mommy is comfortably among the most disappointing horror films of the year.”
“By the time Other Mommy staggered towards its ludicrous finale, the audience at my screening had abandoned any pretense of fear and erupted into laughter.”
The New York Post was even blunter, calling it “the rancid new horror flick” and saying the reviewer “longed to be emancipated from” the 93-minute runtime. The New Indian Express offered one of the few notes of praise, writing that “one thing that can be praised wholeheartedly is Jessica Chastain pushing her character limits and acing the performances.”
The Jump Scare Problem: Promised 50, Delivered Far Less
Director Rob Savage made headlines before release by claiming the film contained approximately 50 jump scares, which works out to roughly one every two minutes across its 93-minute runtime.
That boast has become a focal point of the backlash. The New York Post’s Johnny Oleksinski counted only 22 jump scares and compared Savage’s claim to “bragging that you cooked a doughnut with a ton of trans fat.”
“Fifty jump scares? I would have settled for one good one. Savage reportedly packed the movie with around 50 jump scares. Fifty! And somehow, I spent the entire runtime waiting for a single moment that would make me instinctively grab my seat.”
Slate even published a piece titled “Does a Buzzy New Movie Really Have the Most Jumpscares … Ever? I Counted Every Single One to Find Out,” underscoring how central the jump scare count became to the film’s pre-release marketing and subsequent criticism.
Box Office Success Despite Brutal Word of Mouth
Financially, Other Mommy has performed well above expectations. The film opened in 3,200 North American theaters and grossed $27.5 million domestically in its debut weekend, exceeding projections of $20-24 million.
Internationally, the film added $17.69 million, bringing its global total to $45.19 million against a modest $18 million production budget.
However, the D+ CinemaScore — the lowest grade for any wide release since Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis in September 2024 — suggests sharp drops in the coming weeks. Analyst David A. Gross of FranchiseRe told Variety: “Horror movies are generally immune to a negative reception, but this is extreme. Business is going to drop sharply.”
What Audiences Are Saying on Social Media
Social media reactions have mirrored the critical consensus. X user @HerbSimon1986 called the film a “pure mess and masterfully cringe,” while @49Nudity posted that “Other Mommy should’ve been a comedy.”
Rotten Tomatoes critic Peter Gray wrote on X that the film is “more silly than it is scary,” though he praised Chastain’s commitment to the role.
“Other Mommy is a hot mess and Jessica Chastain’s worst movie in a long time. The direction is sloppy, the score is unremarkable, and not even Chastain can save such a terrible screenplay.”
Even viewers who appreciated Chastain’s performance struggled with the film’s execution. One X user noted “some genuinely unsettling moments, mixed with a few ‘okay… what the hell are we doing?’ moments. Not bad, just messier than scary.”
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Where to Watch Other Mommy: Streaming Details for Global Audiences
Other Mommy is currently playing exclusively in theaters worldwide. The film released in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India on October 9, 2026.
For viewers waiting to stream at home, the film is expected to follow the standard Universal Pictures release pattern. Based on typical windows, Other Mommy is projected to arrive on Peacock around late November 2026, roughly 45 days after its theatrical debut. A Netflix release is expected by March 2027, where it should remain for approximately 10 months.
The film carries an R rating for horror violence and disturbing imagery.
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