‘Clayface’ Opens at No. 1 With $10.4 Million Friday Haul

The latest:

A gory origin story for a second-tier Batman villain led the North American box office Friday, with ‘Clayface’ taking in $10.4 million from 3,458 theaters, Variety reported. The James Watkins-directed film is on pace for roughly $24 million by Sunday — a comfortable result against a production budget of $44 million, far below what Warner Bros. spent on its recent DC tentpoles.

Details:

• The budget math: Variety reported ‘Clayface’ cost $44 million to produce, a fraction of the nearly $230 million spent on ‘Superman,’ which grossed $618.72 million worldwide across its 2025 theatrical run. ‘Supergirl’ was treated as a write-off earlier this year, taking $126 million against a $170 million budget.
• The film: Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, a rising movie star who volunteers for an experimental medical procedure after his face is severely disfigured. Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan also star.
• The review: Variety critic Guy Lodge described the film as its own ugly animal, writing that the characters and conflicts might wear thin under franchise treatment but land as “fresh and ickily enjoyable” within a single genre-melding romp.
• Second place: A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary ‘You Can See Everything’ made $6.14 million Friday from 2,655 theaters, up from 855 at its opening weekend. Domestic cume stands at $31.7 million, with rival estimates pointing to another $20 million by Sunday.
• The doc’s origins: Nathan Fielder and ‘Primetime’ filmmaker Lance Oppenheim worked on the project for more than three years, per Variety. It follows the Theranos founder in the month before she began an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors.
• The awards play: Beyond best documentary feature at the 99th Academy Awards, A24’s awards site lists submissions across best picture, director, production design, cinematography, costume design, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, sound and original score.
• Third place: Laika’s stop-motion ‘Wildwood’ grossed $4.28 million from 2,942 theaters and is tracking to $11.2 million by Sunday. Directed by Travis Knight with a voice cast including Carey Mulligan and Jacob Tremblay, it carries a $100 million price tag — more than double ‘Clayface.’
• Fourth place: Black Bear’s ‘Wicker’ earned $2.36 million Friday from 1,471 theaters, targeting a $5.5 million opening. The romantic comedy from Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer stars Olivia Colman as a fisherwoman who commissions a husband, played by Alexander Skarsgård, from a basketmaker played by Peter Dinklage.
• Fifth place: Legendary’s ‘Street Fighter’ took $2.34 million Friday and should add $8.4 million by Sunday, lifting its cumulative gross to $46.7 million. Kitao Sakurai directed, with Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji as estranged fighters recruited into a 1990s tournament.

Between the lines:

The weekend sets a low-cost DC release against two expensive bets. At $44 million, ‘Clayface’ needs a fraction of what ‘Supergirl’ required to clear its $170 million budget, and a $24 million opening on a niche villain reads differently than the same figure on a flagship character. Laika’s $100 million ‘Wildwood’ faces the steeper climb from a $11.2 million start.

What’s next

Final weekend totals land Sunday, testing whether ‘Clayface’ holds its $24 million projection and whether A24’s documentary converts its wide expansion into the estimated $20 million as awards submissions proceed.