Original Coverage & Source Attribution: variety.com
Just a week ago, “Clayface” was expected to easily top the box office, with opening weekend projections of $25 million to $35 million from 3,400 North American theaters. (Rivals suggest a slightly softer debut around $22 million to $28 million). Now, Warner Bros. and DC’s R-rated comic book adaptation might face some unexpected competition for No. 1 from A24’s buzzy Elizabeth Holmes documentary “You Can See Everything.”
“You Can See Everything” could collect a staggering $20 million to $25 million while expanding to 2,600 venues in its second weekend of release. It would be the rare film to see an increase in ticket sales in its sophomore outing. The stranger-than-fiction film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, shattered initial expectations with $15.6 million from just 855 theaters, marking the biggest opening for a nonmusical documentary in 20 years. It has earned $20.8 million domestically to date.
Whether or not “Clayface” winds up in first place on domestic charts, the movie seems well positioned theatrically. It’s aiming for $20 million to $25 million overseas from 76 markets for a global tally of $45 million to $55 million. The film cost $44 million to produce, a fraction of the budget of DC’s recent adaptations including this July’s “Supergirl” and 2025’s “Superman.” After “Superman” successfully reset the languishing DC Universe, “Supergirl” bombed with $126 million against a $170 million budget and marked a step back for the studio’s comic book ambitions. A body-horror thriller,” Clayface” is much darker than those family friendly adventures. Directed by James Watkins, “Clayface” follows the titular Batman villain, a rising movie star who volunteers for a highly experimental medical procedure after his face is severely disfigured.
“Clayface” is one of several new releases this weekend, including Laika’s stop-motion animated “Wildwood,” Sacha Baron Cohen’s mockumentary “Ali G: Who Iz I?” and the Jenna Ortega-led literary adaptation “Klara and the Sun.” Each of those movies are targeting single digit debuts.
“Wildwood” is tracking a debut of $6 million to $8 million from more than 2,000 theaters. It’s the first release from Laika Studios since 2019’s “Missing Link,” which opened to $6 million from 3,413 theaters and ended its run with $26 million globally. Laika is best known for making the 2009 stop-motion fantasy “Coraline.” Stop-motion animation is labor intensive (this movie took more than five years to make), so “Wildwood” carries a substantial $100 million price tag and likely won’t turn a theatrical profit based on initial projections. Directed by Travis Knight, Laika’s CEO who directed this year’s flop “Masters of the Universe” for Amazon MGM, “Wildwood” revolves around a teenage girl who travels with a classmate into an enchanted forest after her brother is abducted. Reviews have been sterling, with Variety’s chief film critic Guy Lodge praising the movie as “Laika’s most ambitious feature to date” and noting the “lavish stop-motion spectacle makes it feel fresh and alive.”
“Klara and the Sun,” too, might struggle to connect with audiences. It’s estimated to open to $2 million from roughly 850 cinemas. Sony scaled back the theatrical footprint to a moderate release after reviews panned the movie as “calamitous” and “confoundingly awful.” Sony produced the Taika Waititi-directed adaptation for a modest $20 million, so any box office losses won’t be too painful. Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, “Klara and the Sun” takes place in the dystopian future as an obsolete companion android (Jenna Ortega) tries to bond with her new owner, a young sick girl named Josie.
“Ali G: Who Iz I?” is only playing in 125 theaters for two days before moving to Prime Video on a to-be-determined date. Baron Cohen wrote, directed and stars in “Ali G,” based on his breakout character — a wannabe rapper — who originally appeared on Channel 4’s “The 11 O’Clock Show” and later on “Da Ali G Show” in the early 2000s. Much like the comedian’s prior work, including 2006’s “Borat” and 2020’s “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” the “Ali G” movie was shot in secret. Though plot details aren’t clear, Baron Cohen plays three characters in the film including the former Mossad agent from his Showtime series “Who Is America?”
