Box Office Behavior: ‘Other Mommy’ Is Making the Most of the Nolan Bump

Movie theaters have been promoting coming attractions for more than 110 years. You’d think a century-plus of running the same playbook would prevent any one trailer from materializing into a “big deal” among jaded audiences today. But you’d be wrong. Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s all-consuming box office success may be the story of the summer blockbuster season. But it isn’t the most interesting.

Gizmodo, ABC News, BuzzFeed, Reddit and countless other outlets all took notice of the terrifying first trailer for Universal’s Other Mommy, which debuted in front of The Odyssey. (I can neither confirm nor deny that I spilled half of my popcorn when Jessica Chastain popped out from underneath that table). A horror title with little to no previous promotion generated a marquee trailer moment in the wake of one of summer’s biggest movies. Most importantly, the tracking data shows it’s sustaining that momentum, unlike most piggyback placements. 

Other Mommy doesn’t open until October 9, but it’s already one of summer’s biggest winners. No, not at the box office just yet, but in one of the strongest predictors of box office potential. One strategic placement on a same-studio release elicited more audience buy-in than any Super Bowl spot this year. That’s the ideal bridge between exposure and conversion. 

The Anatomy of the Bump

One unique facet of the theatrical horror genre is that audience excitement doesn’t usually kick in until pretty late in the game. Sure, franchise horror with name brand appeal like Scream may start off quite high. But for most new-to-screen titles, tracking doesn’t typically rev up until the last few pre-release weeks. That’s not the case for Other Mommy.

Awareness hovered between just 9% and 14% from March through late June. Yet it climbed a massive 17 points from June 27 to July 23 (The Odyssey opened July 17 to $123.5 million). By Aug. 1, it had jumped another seven points to 33%. That’s a 24-point swing in five weeks coinciding with The Odyssey’s success. It’s the film tracking equivalent of a three-point shooter getting hot at the end of the season to help send their team to the playoffs. And this wasn’t just empty reach either. Interest (+13 points), Theatrical Intent (+12 points) and Willingness to Pay (+12.5 points) all moved in lockstep. That is the ideal conversion funnel every movie’s campaign is aiming for—and it’s building long before most comparable titles heat up. 

Standard Super Bowl Bumps

Super Bowl trailers hit hard in the cultural consciousness and then fade just as quickly. Yes, it’s the most-watched annual American telecast which is ideal for broad four-quadrant reach. But is it really worth the $10 million cost? (And could studios have wrung more value out of this year’s World Cup?)

Unaided Awareness, or the percentage of people who name a film without being prompted, dropped back down to pre-game levels within three weeks following 2025 Super Bowl TV spots for M3gan 2.0, How to Train your Dragon and Jurassic World Rebirth. In other words, the bump didn’t last. This year, six of seven movies promoted during the big game saw flat-to-declining Interest Among Aware Audiences afterward. Scream 7 and Project Hail Mary show just how modest bumps can be for tentpoles already tracking well. Awareness lifts of 1.5 points and 0.6 points, respectively, don’t necessarily move the needle. Other Mommy, by contrast, rode shotgun on one of summer’s top releases and is maintaining Awareness and monetization potential weeks later without paying the same $10 million price tag. Not bad. 

Who’s Actually Buying In

Casting the widest of nets can absolutely work. But why do so at a premium when there are far more targeted strategies available today? The breakout success of Smile ($217 million worldwide gross), Longlegs ($128 million), Obsession ($506 million) and Backrooms ($394 million) shows how younger, diverse and female audiences can help separate the hits from the home runs. 

Standout demographics for Other Mommy right now include: Females Under 35 (55% Interest, 47% Theatrical Intent), Black Males Under 35 (45% Awareness, 53% Interest, 68% WTP), Hispanic Females Under 35 (61% Interest, 60% WTP), and Black Females Under 35 (57% Interest, 64% WTP). Though The Odyssey skewed male and older overall, it still boasted a very healthy pull with viewers under 35 and women. 

So Other Mommy’s placement didn’t just provide more general reach. It appears to have delivered the same breakout audience profile that boosted successful genre compatriots. Though overall awareness for the Blumhouse-Atomic Monster flick is still modest, it has generated plenty of momentum to continue building over the final six-week runway. 

Main Takeaways

The Odyssey wasn’t just a big, successful film. It was an event-level release pulling genre audiences that harbored enthusiastic urgency. Horror doesn’t possess the same scale. But it does attract a similar audience that prioritizes communal, opening weekend big screen viewing. So far, that alignment has resulted in the enduring conversion of more eyeballs into more Interest, Intent, and Willingness to Pay. That’s about as effective of a top-of-the-funnel trailer debut as you can manufacture in this business. (To wit, Other Mommy’s Interest Among Aware sits at an excellent 74% as of Aug. 26). 

None of the above absolutely guarantees a breakout box office performance. But it has positioned the film for a healthier debut than initial expectations. Universal leveraged the Nolan Bump by attaching the right film for the right audience at the right moment. The result wasn’t the fleeting improvement we often see after the Super Bowl. Five weeks later, Other Mommy is still converting awareness into Interest, Intent and WTP. For marketing departments shelling out huge sums for mass reach, that’s probably worth remembering.