Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.ign.com
Clayface looks set up to be a win for the DCU after securing the top spot at the box office with an estimated global haul of $43 million.
It’s a strong start for the low-budget DCU film, split between $24 million domestically and $19 million internationally. The opening weekend total falls toward the higher end of early projections as audiences showed up to see Tom Rhys Harries bring a twisted and often overlooked Batman villain to the big screen.
With brutal body horror elements in a story that sees the birth of its titular character, Clayface follows Matt Hagen as he attempts to rebuild his life after a horrible attack leaves his face scarred. Starring Harries, directed by James Watkins, and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, this latest DCU movie took viewers into the darkest corners of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s universe they’ve seen yet, with a pretty hard-R rating.
Clayface Images
It’s for these reasons that the DCU’s foray into a new live-action Gotham City left fans with question marks as they feared how a more adult-oriented story could fit into the same world as something as bubbly and bright as 2025’s Superman. So far, at least, it seems to have paid off, at least compared to Supergirl, which landed as a dud in the DCU earlier this year.
The Milly Alcock-led superhero movie was deemed a box office bomb after it premiered in June. That’s mostly due to its almost $200 million budget, which towered over the comparatively measly $126.46 million it gathered throughout its run (via Box Office Mojo). Clayface, on the other hand, is starting its time in theaters almost matching the $44 million budget reported by Variety.
Although there is certainly plenty of ground to cover before officially being declared a success, it seems like a strong start. A few factors will help carry Clayface throughout the rest of its run: Firstly, its October release timing means Halloween moviegoers will have something spooky to watch next weekend. Reviews have been pretty solid, too, with Rotten Tomatoes recording a 75% from critics and 94% from audiences.
Gunn, at least, is proud of Matt Hagen’s live-action introduction in the DCU. As viewers went to theaters to squirm at Clayface’s backstory, movie fan surveyor site CinemaScore polled an “A-” from audiences. It’s a feat rarely seen in the horror genre, something the DC Studios co-chairman made sure to note in a post on Threads.
“Really proud of this,” Gunn said. “Sinners is the only horror movie to have EVER gotten an A CinemaScore, and only three horror movies have gotten an A- in the last couple years – Obsession, Weapons, and, now, Clayface. As always, all praise goes to James, Mike, Hossein, Tom, Naomi and the whole gang.”
Clayface is in good company in the horror world and in its opening weekend. Coming in second, domestically, was Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary, You Can See Everything. After a limited launch drew rave reviews and positive earnings last weekend, the three-hour movie returned for its second bout with an additional $19.5 million. That’s a 25% increase from its debut, driven by wider availability across an additional 1,800 theaters in the market.
Strong word-of-mouth could see the Fielder picture continue to attract viewers in the coming weeks as moviegoers dare to dip their toes into Holmes’ world and the story of Theranos. Stop-motion studio Laika, meanwhile, might be in for a rough time. Its latest claymation feature, a fantasy epic directed by Travis Knight called Wildwood, came in third at the domestic box office with $11.77 million. That’s above projections for the Coraline moviemaker but still far, far below its reported budget of $100 million.
Though still well above 2019’s Missing Link, Wildwood’s opening weekend numbers put it toward the lower end of debuts in the studio’s history, too. Those who have seen Laika’s latest might be surprised to hear it could struggle to recoup costs, as Laika has managed to pull some remarkably strong reviews so far. Rotten Tomatoes shows it with a 100% from critics and 97% from audiences. We here at IGN gave it an 8/10, calling it an “arresting, exciting fantasy epic made all the more impressive by the fact that it’s handmade and hand-animated.”
Other box office highlights as we approach Halloween are Street Fighter, which brought another $16.8 million worldwide in its second weekend. Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Colman’s Wicker had a domestic total of $5.75 million in its more limited first weekend.
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For more on the biggest movies of the weekend, you can read IGN’s 7/10 Clayface review. You can also read why we thought You Can See Everything is a 10/10. If you caught the new DCU flick in theaters – or if you didn’t becuase you’re a bit squeamish – you can see our breakdown of its ending here.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
