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In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.
The first weekend of the 2026 box office featured few debutants, but saw several of the biggest current titles cement their places at the top. Taking its place at the summit of the domestic charts once again was James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash, which took home a further $40 million from nationwide theaters and continued its surge past the billion-dollar mark. With another billion-dollar success, Zootopia 2, taking second place, the domestic box office's bronze medal went the way of the twisting erotic thriller The Housemaid, as the film bounced back from finishing fourth last weekend.
Starring Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Brandon Sklenar, The Housemaid is directed by Paul Feig and is based on the bestselling novel by Freida McFadden. With gripping novel adaptations proving consistently popular at the box office, it should come as no surprise that The Housemaid continues to rise through the ranks. Thanks to its most recent weekend haul of $14.8 million, the film has now surpassed the global total of a similarly reviewed 2025 movie: Black Phone 2. With the horror sequel finishing its run on $132 million, The Housemaid has already overtaken it in just three weekends, now sitting on $133 million. For those yet to see this pulse-racing, violent thriller, a synopsis reads:
"The Housemaid is a wildly entertaining thriller starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, based on the best-selling book. From director Paul Feig, the film plunges audiences into a twisted world where perfection is an illusion, and nothing is as it seems. Trying to escape her past, Millie (Sweeney) accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina (Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar). But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous -- a sexy, seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power. Behind the Winchesters' closed doors lies a world of shocking twists that will leave you guessing until the very end."
'The Housemaid' Has Earned Positive Reviews
Boasting a "certified fresh" 73% critics' score and a 92% rating from audiences on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it's safe to say that The Housemaid has been received positively across the board. However, not all agreed, with Collider's Jeff Ewing awarding it just 5/10 in his official review. "Was it great? For the majority of its runtime, no," Ewing wrote, adding, "Would I watch the sequel it teases? Yes. Inside you are two wolves, and if they're watching The Housemaid in different parts, the one watching the ending is the happier wolf by far."
The Housemaid is in theaters now. Stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates.
Release Date December 19, 2025
Runtime 131 Minutes
Director Paul Feig
Writers Rebecca Sonnenshine, Freida McFadden
Producers Todd Lieberman
English (US) ·