‘Clayface’ Takes the Box Office Crown as Nathan Fielder’s ‘You Can See Everything’ Refuses To Slow Down

It’s been a strange, unpredictable October at the box office, and DC Studios walked into this weekend with plenty to prove. ‘Clayface’, the R-rated body horror film starring Tom Rhys Harries as Gotham-born actor Matt Hagen, marks the third theatrical release in James Gunn’s DC Universe. It arrived after ‘Supergirl’ underwhelmed this summer, opening to $37.1 million domestically and finishing with $126.4 million worldwide against a $170 million budget.

The DC entry also faced an opponent nobody saw coming. A24’s ‘You Can See Everything’, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s genre-bending documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, opened to $15.6 million on just 855 screens last weekend. It was the biggest non-music documentary opening since ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ in 2004, and it even topped ‘Street Fighter’ on Monday.

Now the weekend picture is coming into focus, and ‘Clayface’ looks set to win the battle. According to Deadline, the film earned $9.5 million Friday, including previews, and is heading for an estimated $23 million to $25 million opening at 3,458 theaters. That would make it the new No. 1 movie in America, following last weekend’s ‘Street Fighter’ ($31 million).

That start puts the film right in line with other mid-October horror hits like ‘Smile’ and ‘Black Phone 2’. The result lands near the lower end of Boxoffice Pro’s preview range of $25 million to $30 million, but comfortably above the more pessimistic forecasts that circulated earlier in the week.

The math also works in its favor. ‘Clayface’ came in at a net production cost of $44 million, a fraction of what DC spent on its bigger superhero swings. Another $20 million to $25 million was expected from overseas markets this weekend.

New posters for DC’s ‘CLAYFACE’. In theaters on October 23. https://t.co/2DA3HTeKUQ

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 7, 2026

Audiences seem to be on board. ‘Clayface’ earned a solid A- CinemaScore, which is rare for an R-rated horror film, and its Rotten Tomatoes audience score sits at 94%, tying ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Batman Begins’ as DC’s highest. Those signals could help it hold steadily through Halloween.

Deadline had flagged one concern ahead of time, hoping the DC film wouldn’t prove too frontloaded on its opening night. A strong Saturday would ease those fears considerably. While ‘Clayface’ grabbed the crown, the bigger story might be the runner-up. ‘You Can See Everything’ pulled in $5.8 million on Friday, up 5% from a week ago, after expanding from 855 locations to 2,655. It now looks headed for a $19 million-plus second weekend.

The final trailer for DC’s ‘CLAYFACE’ has been released. In theaters on October 23. https://t.co/ecTMB97Sto

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 24, 2026

That would be up 22% from its already remarkable opening, giving the documentary a 10-day total of $44.6 million. For a film with a 174-minute runtime that reportedly cost under $7 million to make, those numbers are almost unheard of.

The film’s audience has skewed young, with over 70% of opening weekend ticket buyers under 35. Fielder’s devoted following and the documentary’s secretive, conversation-starting nature have turned it into a genuine cultural event.

For DC Studios, a No. 1 debut on a modest budget is exactly the kind of win the franchise needed after ‘Supergirl’. It suggests smaller, riskier projects can find their footing alongside the studio’s tentpoles.

For A24, ‘You Can See Everything’ continues to rewrite expectations of what a documentary can achieve in theaters. With final figures arriving Sunday, both films have already given the October box office plenty to talk about.

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