‘Clayface’ and ‘Wildwood’ Beat Sunday Projections as Final Weekend Box Office Numbers Roll In

Warner Bros. Pictures / Fathom Entertainment

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The final weekend of October delivered a busy and unusually varied box office. DC Studios’ R-rated body horror film ‘Clayface’ took the top spot, A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary ‘You Can See Everything’ surged in its second weekend, and Laika’s long-awaited stop-motion epic ‘Wildwood’ arrived with high hopes.

Early estimates on Sunday painted a solid but modest picture. ‘Clayface’ was initially pegged at $24 million domestically and $43 million worldwide, slightly below the studio’s projection of $25 million to $30 million, while ‘Wildwood’ was expected to land around $11.6 million.

Once the final numbers arrived, both films looked even stronger. According to Global Box Office, ‘Clayface’ and ‘Wildwood’ overperformed their Sunday projections. ‘Clayface’ opened to $46 million worldwide, $3 million more than the previous day’s estimate. The tracker also noted that the film will soon overtake ‘Supergirl’, which earned $126 million globally.

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‘Wildwood’, meanwhile, recorded one of Laika’s biggest domestic debuts ever, with $12.3 million. That figure puts it on par with the $12.6 million opening of the studio’s 2016 film ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’.

The result is a welcome win for DC. ‘Clayface’ carries a reported $44 million budget, modest by comic book movie standards, and opened in 3,458 North American theaters before adding roughly $19 million from 76 international markets.

Audiences have responded warmly. The film earned an A- CinemaScore and 4.5 out of 5 on PostTrak, positioning it for a strong second weekend as a Halloween offering. Its performance also contrasts sharply with ‘Supergirl’, which posted one of DC Studios’ weakest openings back in June.

Directed by James Watkins from a story by Mike Flanagan, ‘Clayface’ stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising movie star left disfigured after a run-in with a local mob boss. The film marks the third entry in the new DC Universe.

For Laika, the weekend carried even greater significance. ‘Wildwood’ is the studio’s first film since 2019’s ‘Missing Link’, which opened to just $5.9 million, meaning the new release nearly doubled that debut.

Directed by Laika CEO Travis Knight and based on the novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, the film reportedly carries a production budget of around $100 million. It has also earned a perfect 100% score with critics and is being discussed as a potential Oscar contender.

The film added roughly $2.9 million from a handful of international markets, with its global rollout continuing into January 2027. IndieWire estimates that if it follows the same 3.8 multiple as ‘Kubo’, it could finish with roughly $46.3 million domestically.

The broader box office also showed signs of life. Total weekend grosses reached $94.9 million, up nearly 22% from the same weekend last year. ‘You Can See Everything’ was a major part of that story, earning $19.5 million in its second weekend and rising 25% from its debut. Meanwhile, ‘Street Fighter’ dropped about 72% in its second frame.

Both films now head into November with momentum. ‘Clayface’ could benefit from Halloween crowds, while ‘Wildwood’ will rely on word of mouth and awards buzz to build a long run. With these stronger-than-expected actuals, DC and Laika both have reasons to celebrate as the holiday season approaches.

Which movie’s stronger-than-expected box office performance impressed you more?

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