Clayface Box Office: $24M Opening, $43M Worldwide
DC Studios' "Clayface" opened at No. 1 in North America with an estimated $24 million, edging A24's "You Can See Everything" by about $4.5 million. Every figure below is a Sunday studio estimate. Final domestic numbers are due Monday.
What the sources agree on
"Clayface" earned about $24 million from 3,458 theaters, according to estimates reported by The Associated Press and Deadline. The AP calls it a "modest, R-rated win."
Overseas, the film added about $19 million for a global opening near $43 million, per Deadline and TheWrap.
Nathan Fielder's documentary "You Can See Everything," about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, took second place with $19.5 million in its second weekend, per the AP and Deadline.
Laika's stop-motion film "Wildwood," released through Fathom, opened in third place at roughly $11.6 million to $11.8 million.
"Street Fighter" placed fourth with $8.6 million and "Wicker" fifth with $5.8 million, per the AP list.
The weekend's total three-day haul was estimated at $94.9 million.
What differs between outlets
Deadline reports "Clayface" at $24.5 million, while the AP, TheWrap and JoBlo use $24 million. Deadline's own earlier projection was $24 million to $25 million.
"Wildwood" is listed at $11.6 million (TheWrap), $11.7 million (an early Rentrak-based report) and $11.8 million (the AP list). Indian Television, citing the same estimates, gives $11.77 million.
The second-weekend change for "You Can See Everything" is reported as up 25% by Deadline and up 23% by TheWrap.
The budget for "Clayface" is reported as $44 million by the AP, around $40 million by TheWrap, and a range of $30 million to $44 million on Wikipedia.
JoBlo reports a 72% second-weekend drop for "Street Fighter." That figure comes from one outlet and has not been matched.
Why the number matters
The AP says the opening is enough to offer "some stability, and assured profitability" to DC Studios after "Supergirl," which grossed just $126 million worldwide on a $170 million production budget earlier this year. Indian Television, citing Box Office Mojo, puts the "Supergirl" budget at nearly $200 million, so the exact gap is disputed.
"Clayface" is the third theatrical release for DC under James Gunn and Peter Safran, the AP reports. It is a body-horror film directed by James Watkins and stars Tom Rhys Harries in the title role. TheWrap says it was budgeted "like a New Line horror film" and notes an A- CinemaScore and a 4.5 out of 5 on PostTrak. TheWrap suggests that could support a strong second weekend as a Halloween offering. That is a forecast, not a result.
The AP notes that the opening "would have been a flop for most superhero films." The film's low budget is what changes the read.
What to watch
Monday's final figures may move the "Clayface" total by a few hundred thousand dollars in either direction, which could change which outlets match. The second-weekend drop will show whether the CinemaScore translates into legs. "You Can See Everything," a three-hour documentary, kept pace with a studio film and rose in its second week, which is unusual for a title of its length and release type.
