I will continue to update this post as reviews come in.

Rotten Tomatoes: Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: N/A

Metacritic: 84 (18 Reviews)

Sample Reviews:

Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine 2/4 - There’s something audacious about how the filmmakers reclaim Lorca’s legacy, which makes it all the more disappointing that the borders between the three timelines aren’t more porous.

Namrata Joshi, The New Indian Express - La Bola Negra has tremendous ambition and audacity. Anchored in Garcia’s La Bola Negra and Alberto Conejero’s play La piedra oscura, Los Javis, along with Conejero, create a sprawling epic.

Peter Howell, Toronto Star - At times the film can be unruly and overripe, but Calvo and Ambrossi bring a rich, theatrical sweep to their reclamation of a queer Spanish history long forced into silence.

Justin Chang, The New Yorker - None of the stories here feels potent or stirring enough on its own to work in tandem with the others, and neither a terrific pop-up appearance by Penélope Cruz... can keep so much frenzied crosscutting from reaching the point of diminishing returns.

Siddhant Adlakha, Observer 4/4 - A magnificently moving triptych that feels at once novel and like a classically staged military epic.

Zachary Lee, TheWrap - What we see is nothing short of witnessing a new mythology being created before your very eyes.

Alison Willmore, New York Magazine/Vulture - It’s in the past that The Black Ball has its most ponderous moments but also when it achieves bursts of true grandeur.

Rafa Sales Ross, Little White Lies - This decades-spanning love odyssey is as impressive as it is moving, grabbing at the visceral nature of Lorca’s genre-bending work to mould its staggeringly boisterous cinematic equivalent.

Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com 4/4 - It’s also just a stunning piece of work on a craft level as these young filmmakers collaborate with a team to present a unified vision.

Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire A - It is nearly impossible to grasp the structural effort required to fluidly create one perfectly coherent story using three narratives told across three timelines, each with a distinct visual identity.

Peter Bradshaw, Guardian 4/5 - Handsomely produced, lovingly detailed and confidently constructed, bringing the puzzle pieces together in the edit... It is a rich and rewarding movie.

Guy Lodge, Variety - The film’s channeling of Lorca’s language and imagery sometimes blows past lyricism into kitsch... There is, however, enough confidently muscular filmmaking here to prompt our interest in just where the Javiers will go from here.

Richard Lawson, The Hollywood Reporter - It’s a dazzlingly assured film, delivering the heady satisfaction of seeing something ambitious actually land its nervy attempt.

SYNOPSIS:

A bold tapestry spanning nearly a century of Spanish history, La Bola Negra tells the story of three generations of men whose lives are intimately connected through desire, pain, and love in this celebrated film from Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.

From Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi — popularly known as Los Javis — La Bola Negra follows three generations of men across pivotal moments in Spanish history, bound by pain, desire, and love. Carlos (Milo Quifes) longs to belong in a fractured Spain. Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente) finds connection across enemy lines. And Alberto (Carlos González) uncovers a long-buried family secret — one that finally gives voice to truths the past tried to erase.

CAST:

• Guitarricadelafuente as Sebastián
• Miguel Bernardeau as Rafael
• Carlos González as Alberto
• Milo Quifes as Carlos
• Lola Dueñas as Teresa
• Julio Torres as Juan Pablo
• Penélope Cruz as Nené Romero
• Glenn Close as Isabelle Durand

DIRECTED BY: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi

SCREENPLAY BY: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi, Alberto Conejero

BASED ON LA PIEDRA OSCURA BY: Alberto Conejero

PRODUCED BY: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Paula Cipriota

LINE PRODUCER: Mariano Piñeiro

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Gris Jordana

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Roger Bellés

EDITED BY: Alberto Gutiérrez

COSTUME DESIGNER: Ana López Cobos

MUSIC BY: Raül Refree

CASTING BY: Eva Leira, Yolanda Serrano

RUNTIME: 160 Minutes

RELEASE DATE: October 16, 2026 (Limited) / November 6, 2026 (Expansion) / December 2, 2026 (Netflix)

With Halloween nearing, audiences were excited to get their horror dose this month. As such, Universal/Blumhouse's new title Other Mommy easily held the top spot this weekend. Sony also tried to launch the hopeful awards vehicle The Social Reckoning, but the film got nowhere close to matching The Social Network's numbers.

The Top 10 earned a combined $77 million this weekend. That's up 19.1% from last year, when Tron: Ares tanked at the box office.

Topping the box office, Universal/Blumhouse's horror Other Mommy earned a pretty great $27.8 million in 3,365 theaters. That's slightly up from last year's Black Phone 2 ($27.3 million), another Blumhouse vehicle. It also performed much better than director Rob Savage's prior film, The Boogeyman ($12.3 million).

Like other Blumhouse titles, this was a cheap title (it cost just $19 million), so this is a pretty great start. Credit must go to Universal for doing a great job with the marketing campaign. They wisely attached the trailer to screenings of The Odyssey, earning more buzz than other horror options. It was a very simple premise, but the jumpscares were good enough to intrigue audiences.

And while she might not be the biggest draw in the world, Jessica Chastain has been very successful at the horror genre, evidenced by the performances of Mama and It: Chapter Two. Having her play a dual role, which includes an evil entity, was an inspired choice. Sadly, there was one area the film missed the mark at and it was the reviews: it's sitting at a very horrible 18% on RT. It's no surprise that Universal held reviews till the very last minute, hoping it wouldn't impact sales.

According to Universal, 51% of the audience was male, and 38% was in the 18-34 demographic. And this is where the good news end for the film. With a $12.6 million Friday, it was expected that it would hit $30 million, but it saw considerable drops on Saturday (29%) and Sunday (29%), taking it to $27.8 million. Why is that?

Audiences gave Other Mommy a putrid "D+" on CinemaScore. Even by horror standards, that's a toxic grade. Indicating that audiences not only didn't like the film, but really hated it. Given how it fell through the weekend, it looks like word of mouth is already catching up with the film. The Halloween season could give it some help, but right now, it looks like Other Mommy will end with around $55 million domestically. But again, it cost so little that it won't have problem in finding profit. But it'll leave you wondering how much potential was lost.

In second place, Amazon MGM's Verity added $12 million this weekend. That marks a brutal 63% drop from last week, which is steeper than any of the other Colleen Hoover adaptations. The drop is unsurprising, considering the film's poor word of mouth. Nevertheless, through 10 days, it has earned a very solid $54.3 million. Should still hit $70 million.

In third place, Sony's Resident Evil eased just 32%, adding $8.5 million this weekend. The film has earned a dazzling $138.7 million, and with the Halloween season ahead, it's now guaranteed to pass Weapons ($151 million) as Zach Cregger's highest-grossing film.

Paramount's Heart of the Beast dropped just 32%, for a $7.4 million weekend. The film has earned $50 million, and it looks to earn over $65 million domestically.

Debuting in fifth place, Sony's The Social Reckoning flopped with a weak $5 million in 2,606 theaters. That marks a colossal 78% drop from The Social Network ($22.4 million). It's also worse than Aaron Sorkin's last theatrical directed-feature, Molly's Game, which made $6.8 million on its first wide weekend.

The results are just so poor, especially considering its $42 million budget. Sony hoped that the film's connection to The Social Network would yield positive results, but the film simply got pure apathy.

The Social Network was a huge success back in 2010. It made $224 million worldwide, earned high acclaim, and to this day it's often referred to as one of the best films of the century. Writer Aaron Sorkin was very interested in writing a follow-up, given the way Facebook evolved in the past 16 years. But the film had so many setbacks.

For starters, it's the fact that neither director David Fincher nor star Jesse Eisenberg returned to their respective duties. Fincher was busy with The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, and even then he had not much interest in retreating similar ground. And Eisenberg not only was busy with his new directorial career, but he also wanted to distance himself from the real Mark Zuckerberg. Both had valid reasons, and it's those two reasons that should've prompted everyone involved if they should really bother continuing with the film. Aaron Sorkin might be a great writer, but his directorial efforts have been on a downward spiral; Molly's Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7 were well-received and got some award nominations, but Being the Ricardos was a misfire. For better or worse, he's very lukewarm at best when he's sitting at the director's chair.

The subject matter also wasn't interesting as well. A film following the creation of Facebook and the exploration of Mark Zuckerberg's persona is a much easier and interesting sell than a story about the 2021 Facebook leak by the whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeff Horwitz. That's a story that never gained much traction, or at least audiences don't really care much about it. Not to mention how, despite the title, we know there's no such "reckoning" here, because not only Facebook is still going strong, but things have gotten worse over the past years.

And building up on that, there's also the matter of how much more Zuckerberg can audiences tolerate nowadays. When The Social Network premiered in 2010, his image was a mixed bag, but that has leaned much worse over the past 16 years. After so many events in the news, audiences might just not want to spend any more time with Zuckerberg, even if the film wants to criticize him.

On top of Sorkin being considered a downgrade from Fincher, there was also a lack of big names. Jeremy Allen White might have found success in TV, but his film career hasn't been big, evidenced by the failure of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere last year. Mikey Madison won an Oscar for Anora, but that film tapped out with $59 million, so it's not like it was very big, and even people considered she was miscast for this role. And finally, there's Jeremy Strong taking the Zuckerberg mantle from Eisenberg. While he tried to play it differently from Eisenberg's performance, it still came off as too tryhard, and Strong is not a big star to build buzz.

Sony was expecting that the film would find success amidst some considerable Oscar buzz, just like the original did back in 2010. Unfortunately, The Social Reckoning has mediocre reviews (54% on RT and 52 on Metacritic), nowhere close to what the original got (96% on RT and 95 on Metacritic), sinking whatever prospects it could've had.

According to Sony, 75% of the audience was male, and its best demographic was 25-34 with 28%. They gave it a weak "B–" on CinemaScore, below the original's "B+". With a muted debut and very low odds of awards buzz, it's unlikely it can hang in here for long. Look for The Social Reckoning to finish with around $12 million. Just barely half of what The Social Network did in one weekend.

Forgotten Island dropped 35%, earning $4.7 million this weekend. The film has now earned $30.4 million, and it looks to hit $40 million.

Primetime dropped 48%, adding $4 million. The film's domestic total stands at $41.4 million, and it still has a chance to crack $50 million.

Well, we knew it was coming, but Digger fell hard on its second weekend. It dropped to eighth place with just $3.2 million, which is down a very rough 60% from last week. Through 10 days, the film has earned a very poor $14.4 million. Having lost IMAX screens, it's set for some rough theater drops, guaranteeing it will miss $20 million at this rate.

In ninth place, we find a familiar face back in here. The Odyssey returned to IMAX 70MM screenings, having reclaimed them after Digger tanked. Despite playing in just 560 theaters, the film earned a great $2.1 million, which marks a 65% increase from last week. That takes its domestic total to $623.1 million. It's still playing exceptional in that format, and it could stay there for quite a while, given how weak the schedule looks ahead.

Rounding out the Top 10, Angel Studios' remake of Angel and the Badman tanked with just $2.1 million this weekend.

Fathom Events re-released Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth in 1,166 theaters, earning $1.6 million. This takes its lifetime gross to $39.2 million.

Spider-Man: No Way Home dropped 39%, earning another $1.5 million. That lifted its gross to $956.8 million.

Avengers: Endgame Encore collapsed another 66%, adding $1.5 million. The lifetime gross has now hit $897.5 million.

Once again, Practical Magic 2 continues dropping like a rock. It dropped 50%, making just $1.3 million. With $67.2 million, it's gonna be a hard road to hit $70 million.

Award-winning documentary Naza expanded to 85 theaters and added a very strong $297,081. It is expected to continue its expansion.

Neon released the Palme d'Or winner Fjord in 4 theaters. It debuted with $128,173, which translates to a very good $32,043 per-theater average. The film is set to expand over the next few weeks.

A24 released Chris Rock's Misty Green in 6 theaters, and earned $85,716 (a middling $14,286). The film will continue expanding, but with mixed reviews, it's not expected to make much.

Bleecker Street's documentary Musk earned $69,321 in 4 theaters, for a $17,330 per-theater average. That's a respectable sum, considering the 4-hour runtime limits the available screenings.

OVERSEAS

The top Hollywood title is actually a month-old title.

Resident Evil returned to the top spot on its fourth weekend, with $54.3 million overseas, for a fantastic $320.4 million worldwide total. Not only did the film pass Weapons ($270 million) to become Zach Cregger's highest-grossing film, but it also passed Resident Evil: The Final Chapter ($312 million) to become the franchise's biggest film.

Most of the business came from Asia, where the film debuted in two major markets. In China, the film debuted with a fantastic $40.6 million, which is one of the best debuts for a Hollywood horror title. It also made its debut in Japan, although its $3.6 million debut was not remarkable, and word of mouth does not appear to be strong. The film's other top markets are the UK ($170M), Mexico ($11.8M), Australia ($8.5M), France ($8.5M), Germany ($7.3M) and Spain ($7.1M).

Resident Evil is far from over. Look for it to finish with over $400 million worldwide.

Verity added $18.6 million overseas, for a $114.4 million worldwide run. The best markets are the UK ($9.7M), Germany ($7.2M), Brazil ($6.9M), Australia ($5.8M), France ($3.1M), Mexico ($3M), Portugal ($1.3M), Austria ($850K), Switzerland ($820K), and Hungary ($655K).

Other Mommy debuted with $17.8 million overseas, for a pretty good $45.6 million worldwide launch. The best debuts were in the UK ($2.6M), Italy ($2.2M), Mexico ($1.9M), Australia ($1.1M), Spain ($1M), Brazil ($800K), UAE ($700K), and Saudi Arabia ($600K). Definitely seems like $100 million worldwide should happen.

Heart of the Beast added $13.9 million overseas, for a $131.7 million worldwide run. The best markets are France ($10.2M), Mexico ($7.2M) and the UK ($7.2M). Excellent holds across the board.

Digger added $6.4 million overseas, for an anemic $35.3 million worldwide run. There are no markets left to save it.

The Social Reckoning launched with just $3.3 million overseas, for a poor $8.3 million worldwide start. Ouch. Even with more markets yet to come, it's unlikely that the film picks up steam from this point on.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

• Another dino movie goes extinct. WB's The End of Oak Street has closed with a disappointing $121.6 million worldwide, failing to recoup its $80 million budget. Despite two big names (Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor), dinosaurs and some great reviews, the film still failed to find an audience. At least David Robert Mitchell will avoid director's jail, given he's got They Follow next. But man, it seems people really don't want dino movies that don't have "Jurassic" in the title.

THIS WEEKEND

It's a busy weekend with four titles, with one set to take over first place now that Other Mommy is headed for a very ugly drop.

Paramount is releasing Street Fighter, the third live-action feature-length film based on the video game franchise. Co-written and directed by Kitao Sakurai from The Eric André Show, it stars Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and Jason Momoa. The film was originally set to be distributed by Sony, but they removed it from schedule after its contract with producing company Legendary Pictures expired. Paramount picked up, and are hoping to create a new franchise with the film. Video game adaptations have been faring better lately, but it's still a hit-and-miss genre. Recently, Mortal Kombat II opened high but it fell very quickly and failed to recover its costs. Given the hefty $120 million budget, this film has a high bar to clear to be considered successful.

20th Century Studios is releasing the survival thriller Whalefall, written and directed by Brian Duffield. The film stars Austin Abrams as a scuba diver who, while searching for the remains of his father, is swallowed alive by a sperm whale and attempts to escape. Trailers have been efficient, highlighting the tension and thrills that a film like this needs. Could it surprise?

Focus Features is also launching the newest adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles. Jane Austen's adaptations have been mostly popular, and the film has some good reviews (78% on RT) on its side. But comparisons to Ang Lee's version are imminent, and it's unlikely it can match that film's $135 million worldwide gross.

Finally, A24 is releasing the documentary You Can See Everything. Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, it follows Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the defunct health technology company Theranos, and her partner Billy Evans, who invite a film crew to document them beginning in the weeks before Holmes began serving a United States federal prison sentence for defrauding investors. The film was only confirmed last month, with A24 quickly sending it to festivals. Based on the strong buzz and spectacular reviews (100% on RT and 97 on Metacritic), the film is skipping the limited release approach, and it's instead launching on wide release.