DC Studios’ R-rated horror movie Clayface made its North American box office debut on top. Its darker, lower-budget knockabout on a famous Batman villain led to a gross of $24 million domestically and $43 million globally, narrowly beating out a surprisingly good documentary for No. 1. Here’s how the film did, and what its debut means for DC.
A No. 1 opening
Clayface opened in 3,458 North American theaters and earned an estimated $24 million from Friday to Sunday, according to studio estimates. That included $3.5 million from Thursday previews. The film added around $19 million internationally for a global opening of about $43 million.
Big names behind the scenes
The screenplay was written by horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, from a story by Flanagan. Matt Reeves, director of The Batman, produced the film alongside DC Studios co-chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran.
A modest budget
It’s said to have had a production budget of anything between $40 million and $44 million, which is significantly cheaper than most superhero movies. Its worldwide opening alone is roughly equal to that, so Clayface stands a decent chance of actually making a profit.
Audiences approve
Moviegoers gave Clayface an A- CinemaScore, a strong grade for a horror film. It also earned a 76% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, higher than several recent DC releases. Good word of mouth could help the film hold on in theaters over the coming weeks.
A close race for first
Clayface narrowly beat A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. The documentary earned $19.5 million in its second weekend, up 25% from its opening and bringing its total to $45.1 million.
Rest of the top 3
Laika’s stop-motion animated film Wildwood debuted in third place with $11.8 million from 2,779 locations. Overall, the weekend’s domestic box office reached about $94.9 million, and the year-to-date total stands at $8.36 billion, up 20.2% from the same point last year.
The Halloween test
Clayface gave the newly merged Paramount and Warner Bros. their first No. 1 weekend since the merger. Its next challenge comes over Halloween weekend, when horror films often see a boost. A strong hold would show whether the film’s good reviews can turn into a long theatrical run.
