DC's Clayface opened at No. 1 in North America with $24 million across 3,458 locations, plus $19 million from 76 international markets for a $43 million worldwide debut, earning an A- CinemaScore from opening audiences.
DC's Clayface opened at No. 1 in North America with $24 million across 3,458 locations over the weekend. The film added $19 million from 76 international markets for a $43 million worldwide debut, and opening audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore.
Directed by James Watkins and starring Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, Clayface is an R-rated body-horror film based on the DC Comics villain, in which a rising actor's disfigurement and an experimental procedure turn him into a shape-shifting creature. Trade reports put the production budget at about $40 million to $44 million, a modest sum by superhero standards, which means the opening weekend alone nearly covers the reported production cost.
Behind Clayface, A24's Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything took second place in North America with $19.5 million in its second weekend, for a $45.1 million domestic total. Laika's stop-motion feature Wildwood opened third with about $11 million, and Street Fighter fell to fourth with $8.6 million, down about 72 percent from its opening weekend. The overall three-day North American box office was estimated at $94.9 million.
The grosses are Sunday studio estimates reported identically by TheWrap, Hypebeast and MyNewsLA, so Monday actuals may differ slightly from the figures used here. The production budget is stated as a range because trade reports differ, with TheWrap putting it at around $40 million and other outlets at $44 million. The A- CinemaScore is corroborated across the same reports. David A. Gross of FranchiseRE told TheWrap the opening was very good for a story rooted in the DC superhero universe with a horror storyline, and that the film should be profitable once it finishes all ancillary business.
The result matters because it shows a cheaper path for DC after a costly summer: a $43 million global opening against a $40 million to $44 million budget is a start most superhero releases cannot claim. The test now is the second weekend, when word of mouth from the A- CinemaScore will show whether Clayface holds its audience or fades like a typical horror opening.