Warner Bros. and DC Studios are banking on a solid launch for Clayface, the new body-horror take on a classic Batman adversary. Thursday night preview screenings across more than 3,400 U.S. venues generated approximately $3.5 million, a figure that already eclipses the opening weekend of several recent genre releases. The film, directed by James Watkins and built on a modest $44 million production budget, stars Tom Rhys Harries as the doomed actor Matt Hagen and Naomi Ackie as the scientist who attempts to help him.
Industry analysts have calibrated the opening-weekend outlook for Clayface at somewhere between $20 million and $25 million domestically, with an additional $20 million-$25 million expected from overseas markets. Those projections position the movie as the first low-to-mid-budget DC title to possibly turn a profit without the hefty marketing spend that accompanies earlier tentpoles such as Supergirl, which opened to $37.1 million domestically and ultimately earned $126 million worldwide.
Clayface preview performance and financial outlook
The Thursday preview tally places Clayface ahead of several comparable R-rated releases from the past few years. For reference, Sony’s Kraven the Hunter logged roughly $2 million in previews before a lackluster $11 million opening, while the pre-COVID PG-13 DC spin-off Birds of Prey earned $4 million in its advance showings. Moreover, the horror-genre benchmark Other Mommy generated $3.6 million in previews and opened with $27.8 million, indicating that Clayface is comfortably situated within a profitable envelope.
Critical reception and audience buzz
Critical response has been encouraging: the movie currently holds a 75 % approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, surpassing recent DC outings like Supergirl (52 %). Audience metrics are similarly positive, with PostTrak reporting a 4.5-star average and a 94 % positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. The combination of solid reviews and strong preview earnings suggests a healthy word-of-mouth effect that could sustain the film into its second weekend.
A24’s You Can See Everything raises the stakes
Across the competition front, A24’s documentary You Can See Everything—a deep-dive into the rise and fall of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes—has turned heads. After a limited debut in 855 theatres that netted $15.6 million (the biggest opening for a non-musical documentary in two decades), the film is expanding to roughly 2,600 screens for its second weekend. Projections place its earnings in the $18 million-$25 million range, enough to challenge Clayface for the top spot in the domestic box-office.
Both releases have benefited from strong audience interest: You Can See Everything topped the box office on three separate weekdays (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday) with $2.5-$2.6 million per day, while Clayface enjoys a 94 % audience score that could translate into repeat viewings. The rivalry is further intensified by the presence of other new titles, such as Laika’s stop-motion adventure Wildwood (2,926 theatres, 100 % Rotten Tomatoes) and Sony’s Klara and the Sun starring Jenna Ortega, though these are expected to pull modest numbers relative to the two lead contenders.
Market context and ancillary releases
Beyond the headline matchup, the weekend’s broader box-office tableau includes Street Fighter (Paramount/Lego), which posted a $38.3 million total, and several specialty releases like Black Bear’s Wicker (preview $620 k, projected $6-$8 million) and Amazon MGM’s comedy Ali G: Who Iz I?, which will shift to streaming after a brief theatrical run. While these titles will fragment audience attention, the bulk of ticket sales is likely to concentrate on the clash between a franchise-driven superhero thriller and a culturally resonant documentary.
In sum, Clayface arrives with a lean budget, strong critical endorsement, and promising preview figures, positioning it as a potential profit-center for the newly restructured DC Studios. Yet the rapid expansion of You Can See Everything adds a wildcard that could tilt the weekend’s earnings in favour of the documentary, making the box-office outcome far from certain.
