‘Clayface’ Box Office Starts Strong as DC’s Horror Gamble Opens in Theaters
The ‘Clayface’ box office run is officially underway, and DC Studios has plenty riding on how audiences respond. James Gunn and Peter Safran’s first move into lower-budget genre filmmaking stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor whose life is upended when his face is disfigured.
Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, the R-rated body horror film runs 1 hour and 48 minutes and is a sharp departure from the studio’s usual superhero fare.
The road to release hasn’t been the smoothest. Early tracking showed presales running roughly 80% behind ‘Supergirl’ at the same point in its sales cycle, and one theater chain tracker noted that momentum stalled in the final stretch before opening. With ‘Supergirl’ having disappointed over the summer, the pressure on DC’s third outing was impossible to ignore.
That’s what makes the first real numbers so encouraging. According to a Deadline exclusive, ‘Clayface’ earned an estimated $3.5 million, if not more, from Thursday night previews that kicked off at 2 p.m. The outlet described it as a solid start for the DC villain’s big-screen debut.
The comparisons help put that figure in perspective. ‘Clayface’ beat the R-rated Sony/Marvel release ‘Kraven the Hunter’, which earned $2 million in previews before an $11 million opening, and came in close to the PG-13 DC spinoff ‘Birds of Prey’, which grossed $4 million in previews on the way to a $33 million debut. It also nearly tripled the $1.2 million preview haul of ‘Digger’, which opened to $8 million.
The final trailer for DC’s ‘CLAYFACE’ has been released. In theaters on October 23. https://t.co/ecTMB97Sto
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 24, 2026
Among horror releases, the numbers look even more promising. ‘Clayface’ landed close to Blumhouse and Atomic Monster’s ‘Other Mommy’, which earned $3.6 million in previews and opened to $27.8 million, and comfortably ahead of ‘Smile’, which turned $2 million in previews into a $22.6 million opening.
That’s a good sign in a year when scares have been selling. Horror has already generated more than $1.1 billion at the domestic box office this year, with titles like ‘Obsession’, ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Resident Evil’ proving audiences will show up for the genre. Booked across 3,400 sites, including Dolby Cinema, premium large formats and motion seats, ‘Clayface’ is hoping to ride that same wave right before Halloween.
Deadline currently forecasts a domestic opening between $20 million and $25 million. If it hits that range, it would give the newly combined Paramount-Warner Bros. its second consecutive No. 1 opener, following ‘Street Fighter’, which debuted with around $31 million last weekend. The outlet also has the film eyeing $45 million or more worldwide.
New posters for DC’s ‘CLAYFACE’. In theaters on October 23. https://t.co/2DA3HTeKUQ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 7, 2026
The key now is whether the film can avoid being front-loaded. A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary ‘You Can See Everything’ remains a real threat after winning Wednesday with $2.3 million and opening to $15.6 million, so the race for the top spot is far from settled. Overseas, ‘Clayface’ also opened below ‘Supergirl’ in its first markets, putting more weight on its domestic run.
Reviews could help carry ‘Clayface’ through the weekend. The film enters with a 76% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, outpacing ‘The Flash’ at 63%, ‘Supergirl’ at 52%, ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ at 49%, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ at 33%, and ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ at 31%.
With a net production cost of $44 million before marketing, the movie doesn’t need blockbuster numbers to be considered a win. If word of mouth holds, DC’s riskiest experiment yet might turn out to be one of its smartest bets.
Will you be watching Clayface in theaters after its promising box office debut?
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