Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ “Clayface” led the domestic box office this weekend, earning an estimated $24 million from 3,458 theaters. The film, which features Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, is an R-rated comic book adaptation blending elements of body horror. It was produced for approximately $44 million and added $19 million from international markets, bringing its global opening total to $43 million.
The opening follows the theatrical performance of “Supergirl” earlier this year, which earned $126 million worldwide against a production budget of $170 million. DC Studios, currently led by James Gunn and Peter Safran, promoted “Clayface” at San Diego Comic-Con prior to its release. Audiences gave the film an “A-” CinemaScore, a metric used to gauge viewer reactions on opening night.
A24’s documentary “You Can See Everything,” directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, placed second with $19.5 million as it expanded to 2,655 locations. The three-hour film, which centers on Elizabeth Holmes, has earned $45.1 million in two weeks of release. Other new entries included Laika Studios’ stop-motion film “Wildwood,” which debuted in third place with $11.8 million, and “Wicker,” starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård, which earned $5.8 million.
The scale of these figures is significant for the broader film industry. The newly merged Paramount and Warner Bros. reached $1 billion in domestic box office earnings for the year on Monday, October 19, joining Universal, Disney, and Sony in that category. However, high production costs remain a factor for other studios; despite positive reviews and an $11.8 million start, “Wildwood” faces a difficult path to profitability because of its $100 million production cost. Moviegoers may notice fewer experimental high-budget films if such projects fail to recoup their costs, while seeing more platform-release strategies like A24's, which used limited screenings to build interest before expanding to over 2,600 theaters.
The performance of these films also sets precedents for upcoming awards cycles. If “You Can See Everything” maintains its current momentum, it could become the first documentary nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Conversely, other films struggled to find an audience; Sony Pictures’ “Klara and the Sun” earned $725,000 at 880 theaters, and Amazon MGM did not report grosses for Sacha Baron Cohen's “Ali G: Who Iz I?” amid backlash regarding the film's content. Final domestic box office figures for the weekend of October 23-25 are scheduled for release on Monday, October 26.