Clayface Tops the Box Office With $24M — DC's Horror Gamble Nearly Earns Its Budget Back

Clayface (2026) is DC Studios’ R-rated body-horror film about Batman villain Matt Hagen, directed by James Watkins and starring Tom Rhys Harries.

A man made of mud just outran a three-hour documentary about Elizabeth Holmes. Halloween season is weird, fiends — and this round went to the horror movie.

Clayface opened at No. 1 with an estimated $24 million at the domestic box office. Add $19 million from international markets and the global opening lands at $43 million — in three days, nearly the whole reported production budget back in the till.

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Quick Specs

Film: Clayface (2026)
Director: James Watkins
Cast: Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie
Release date: October 23, 2026 (in theaters now)
Opening weekend (domestic): $24 million, No. 1
Opening weekend (global): $43 million
Runner-up: You Can See Everything — $19.5 million (second weekend)
Reported budget: $30–44 million (reports vary)
CinemaScore: A-
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% critics, 93–94% audience
Status: Now playing

A Small Opening, Done on Purpose

By superhero math, $24 million looks tiny. Superman opened at $125 million last year, and Supergirl managed $37.1 million this summer. But neither of those was budgeted like a horror movie. Clayface was — reports put its cost between $30 and $44 million, a fraction of Supergirl’s roughly $170 million — so a $43 million global start is a different story than the raw ranking tells.

David A. Gross put it plainly: “Over the years, there have been a dozen spinoffs of superhero villains and antiheroes, from ‘Joker’ to ‘Venom’ to ‘Kraven the Hunter.’ This picture was wisely conceived as something different, costing a fraction of what those films cost, and it should be profitable when it finishes all ancillary business.”

The opening day did the heavy lifting: $10.4 million on Friday, including $3.5 million from Thursday previews.

The Documentary That Nearly Stole the Crown

The fight for first was real. You Can See Everything, A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary, expanded in its second weekend and pulled $19.5 million — a documentary, in second place, within $4.5 million of a DC film. Its domestic total now sits at $45.1 million.

Clayface held it off. Just.

Halloween Is the Real Test

Full disclosure, up front: Think Horror has not published its own Clayface review yet — our critics roundup below tracks what reviewers are saying. Audiences, though, have voted: an A- CinemaScore is rare air for horror, and with Halloween next Saturday, a body-horror picture holding this well gets a second weekend most horror films would kill for.

Trivia & Facts

Clayface is the third film in the relaunched DC Universe, after Superman (2025) and Supergirl (2026) — and by far the cheapest of the three.
Its $24 million is the lowest domestic debut of the three, against the lowest budget of the three.
Supergirl finished at $126.4 million worldwide on a budget reported around $170 million; Clayface nearly matched its own budget in one weekend.
An A- CinemaScore matches the grade Superman earned — unusual company for an R-rated gore picture.

Harper’s Extras

FAQ

Did Clayface win the weekend?

Yes — an estimated $24 million domestic puts it at No. 1, ahead of You Can See Everything at $19.5 million.

Is Clayface profitable already?

Not quite on ticket sales alone, but close: $43 million worldwide in three days against a reported $30–44 million production budget, before marketing and ancillary revenue.

Why is the opening being called a success if it’s DC’s lowest?

Scale. It cost a fraction of Superman and Supergirl, and audiences graded it A-, which points to a strong Halloween hold.

Where can I watch Clayface?

In theaters now. No streaming date has been announced.

Sleep tight — and if your face starts sliding, see a doctor, not a scientist.