Jessica Chastain is back in Scream Queen territory, playing dual roles in the much buzzed-about horror Other Mommy.

The film, based on Josh Malerman‘s 2024 novel Incidents Around the House, follows a family whose house is haunted by a sinister entity that looks and sounds identical to the mother, with both versions played by the star.

Chastain, whose resumé includes horror films It Chapter Two, Mama and Crimson Peak, has a deep love of the genre, recalling at the new movie’s Los Angeles premiere on Thursday that “when I was a kid going to the movies, it was very rare to see a female character that I looked up to. And then I realized that the horror genre had a lot of incredibly strong women that I could recognize as the women around me in my life. Usually the women defeat the monsters in the genre, they’re the heroes, and the other genres that I grew up with I didn’t see that.”

In the months leading up to its release, Other Mommy has gotten lots of attention online for its campy title and premise, as well as its major jump scares — which were first on display when the trailer debuted in theaters in front of The Odyssey, spooking plenty of moviegoers who were not prepared for the horror moment.

“I got really funny texts from my friends and family who went to go see The Odyssey, because I have a lot of friends who love to go to the cinema, so it was really funny,” Chastain noted of the trailer’s viral impact.

Director Rob Savage also weighed in on that unexpected tie-in, revealing, “The thing that was so insane about launching in front of The Odyssey was the movie was far from finished. My phone was blowing up and we were there in the color grade, in the mix, approving VFX shots, being like, ‘Are we going to make release?’ Working for 18 hours a day to get it done. So it was a nice shot in the arm but it was also like, ‘We better have a movie at the end of it.’”

And despite the attention it has brought, the original title of the film was actually not Other Mommy, but Incidents Around the House to line up with the book. Savage — while lamenting how the internet was “annoyed it wasn’t Other Mother” — explained of the change that Other Mommy was simply “a better title,” and “if we’re trying to create the next iconic horror villain, that’s gotta be the foot you lead with.”

The film has faced some harsh reviews but is still set for a big weekend at the box office, opening against Aaron Sorkin‘s The Social Reckoning. Chastain starred in Sorkin’s 2017 film Molly’s Game and is also close friends with Social Reckoning star Jeremy Strong (who takes over from Jesse Eisenberg in the Mark Zuckerberg role), so is she feeling any competition as the two movies debut?

“The funny thing is actually Aaron wrote me an email, he’s the one who brought it to my attention. I don’t know if you know this, he’s a bit of a wordsmith, and he sent me a very fun email about it, that we were going head to head. But no competition,” she teased, though is open to a Barbenheimer-style collaboration. “Can we get Zuck in Other Mommy, doing press together?”

Other Mommy is now playing in theaters.

Universal Pictures release Other Mommy saw a strong $3.6M from previews beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday from 2,850 theaters and opens today on 3,365 screens. The Social Reckoning is reckoning with $650k.

Other Mommy, the Jessica Chastain-toplined horror by Rob Savage from producer James Wan and Blumhouse Atomic Monster sees a young girl (Arabella Olivia Clark) form a relationship with a sinister entity in her home who looks uncannily like her own mother. Oscar winner Chastain and It: Chapter Two star plays dual roles as the real and the other mother.

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The previews were strong for a Blumhouse movie of this size, though early reviews are very far from kind. Horror has been a safe bet in the run-up to Halloween, and while the market is crowded, there are no new tentpoles. The R-rated Other Mommy was eyeing an opening in the mid-$20 million range. We’ll see how the reviews and audience reaction impact the weekend.

Sony’s The Social Reckoning from Columbia Pictures and Alcon Entertainment took in a soft $650K for Thursday previews starting at 4 p.m. at 2,368 locations. Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up to 2010’s The Social Network is at 59% fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Inspired by true events, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) enlists the help of Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) to expose the nefarious doings of the social media giant. Jeremy Strong stepped in as Mark Zuckerberg, who was played by Jesse Eisenberg in Social Network.

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The comp for this was Digger, which posted previews of $1.2M last week. The Social Network production cost (after incentives) came in at $30M is significantly cheaper than the Warner. Bros pic, and it is 50% financed by Alcon. Projections are for an opening weekend in the mid-single digit millions.

How the week’s top 5 went:

1. Verity (Amazon MGM) 3,510 theaters, Wk $42.4M

2. Resident Evil (Sony) 3,256 theaters, Wk $17.8M, Total $130.2M/Wk3

3. Heart of the Beast (Paramount) 3,481, Wk $15.1M, Total $42.5M, Wk 2

4. Primetime (A24) 2,894, Wk $10.8M, Total $38.8M, Wk 2

5. Digger (Warner Bros.) 3,321, Wk $11.2M