Clayface Opens at No. 1 With $43M Worldwide as DC's Villain-Focused Bet Pays Off

A body-horror film about one of Batman's most unsettling villains beat a documentary about one of Silicon Valley's most notorious fraudsters this weekend — and the margin was closer than anyone expected. Clayface opened at No. 1 with $24 million domestically and $43 million worldwide for the October 23–25 weekend, while You Can See Everything, A24's documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, held second place for the second consecutive week with $19.5 million.

Directed by James Watkins and starring Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen — a rising actor whose attempt to restore his disfigured face leads to horrifying consequences — Clayface opened in 3,458 North American theaters. The film's international rollout began October 21, two days before its North American release. According to Techloy, the production budget was approximately $40 million, though some reports put it closer to $44–45 million. The $43 million worldwide gross does not yet represent profit: cinemas retain a portion of ticket sales, and marketing and distribution costs add to the total the film must earn back.

Early audience signals are encouraging. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 75% critics' score and a 94% audience score, and CinemaScore gave the film an A-. With Halloween arriving next week and no major new competition immediately on the horizon, the film has a window to hold its audience.

The opening gives Warner Bros. evidence for a strategy it has been testing: spinning Batman villains into standalone, lower-budget projects rather than expensive ensemble blockbusters. The Penguin preceded Clayface down this path, and according to Gizmodo, a Poison Ivy project is potentially in the pipeline.

The more striking story may be unfolding at No. 2. You Can See Everything has now earned a cumulative $45.1 million in just two weekends, after A24 expanded it from 855 theaters to approximately 2,655. According to Vulture, ticket sales rose 28 percent week-over-week. Punch Drunk Critics reported a 25 percent increase. If the documentary sustains its momentum, it could surpass Fahrenheit 9/11's $119 million to become the highest-grossing documentary of all time, according to Vulture — a milestone that would be the first of its kind in roughly fifteen years, per Punch Drunk Critics.

Laika's stop-motion film Wildwood opened at No. 3 with $11.6 million domestically and an additional $3 million from a handful of international markets, according to Gizmodo — well above the $6–8 million analyst projection range. It earned a 100% critics' score and a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an A from CinemaScore. Laika released the film in conjunction with Fathom Events across 2,942 theaters, an unconventional distribution approach that appears to have paid off. The film is set to expand to additional international territories in coming weeks.

Street Fighter fell sharply to fourth place in its second weekend, dropping 72% to $8.6 million. Its worldwide total stands at $79 million, and according to Punch Drunk Critics, it has not gained traction internationally. Wicker, the romantic fantasy starring Olivia Colman as a fisherwoman who romances a man made of wicker played by Alexander Skarsgård, came in fifth with between $5.75 million and $5.8 million domestically. The film is set to open in the UK on October 30 and in Australia on November 5, per Gizmodo, giving it a potential second-week lift.

At the lower end of the chart, Taika Waititi's Klara and the Sun — a sci-fi adaptation starring Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams, released by Sony Pictures — earned approximately $720,000 in its opening weekend from just 880 theaters. According to Gizmodo, Sony reduced screenings after reviews arrived, and the film may move to VOD and streaming sooner rather than later. Helen Mirren's thriller A Talent for Murder, released by Bleecker Street, opened with $717,000.

The next major box-office events are Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on November 20 and Disney's animated film Hexed on November 25, leaving the current slate — Clayface in particular — room to breathe through the Halloween corridor.

Why it matters — Clayface's opening tests whether DC can build a sustainable, lower-cost cinematic universe around villains rather than heroes — a model that could reshape how the studio approaches its comic-book IP.

Sources differ on You Can See Everything week-over-week ticket sales increase: 28% increase (vulture.com) vs 25% increase (punchdrunkcritics.com)

Sources differ on Wildwood domestic opening weekend gross: $11.2 million (vulture.com) vs $11.6 million (punchdrunkcritics.com) vs $11.6 million (gizmodo.com)

Sources differ on Wicker domestic opening weekend gross: $5.75 million (vulture.com) vs $5.8 million (gizmodo.com)

Reported by vulture.com, techloy.com, punchdrunkcritics.com, gizmodo.com, movies.mxdwn.com