‘Clayface’ Gets a Discount Tuesday Boost as DC’s Horror Gamble Keeps Rolling

DC Studios took a real risk by turning a Batman villain into an R-rated body horror film. The ‘Clayface’ box office run is now one of the more interesting stories of the October season. The film arrived in theaters under heavy pressure, and plenty of industry watchers wondered whether audiences would turn out for a lesser-known villain.

That pressure had a cause. ‘Supergirl’ disappointed at the box office earlier this year, which put extra weight on the next DCU feature. ‘Clayface’ is a modestly budgeted horror story that Mike Flanagan pitched to James Gunn and Peter Safran before writing it with Hossein Amini.

New weekday numbers suggest the film has some life in it. According to box office tracker Luiz Fernando, ‘Clayface’ grossed about $3.4 million on Tuesday, up 47.8% from Monday, as moviegoers took advantage of discounted tickets.

That puts its domestic total at roughly $29.7 million after just 5 days in theaters. The figures come from a tracker rather than an official studio report, so the final numbers could shift slightly.

The Tuesday comparisons look good for a horror release. According to the same post, ‘Clayface’ matched the $3.4 million ‘Birds of Prey’ earned on its comparable Tuesday. It also beat ‘Black Phone 2’ ($3.1 million), ‘Smile’ ($3 million), ‘Other Mommy’ ($2.9 million), ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ ($2.3 million) and ‘Kraven the Hunter’ ($1.3 million).

Beloved by audiences, #DCStudios’s R-rated film #Clayface took full advantage of Discount day at US #BoxOffice! #DCU’s first body horror, starring #TomRhysHarries, EXPLODED grossing 3.4M on TUE, up STRONG +47.8% from MON (vs #KravenTheHunter’s 1.3M, +53.1%, #TheExorcistBeliever 2.3M, -2.5%, #OtherMommy’s 2.9M, +0.5%, #Smile 3M, +35.4%, #BlackPhone2’s 3.1M, +43.6%, #BirdsOfPrey’s 3.4M, +56.5%) The CBM Horror, carrying a 44M production price-tag not including marketing, hits a 29.7M cume in the U.S. alone, in just 5 days. https://t.co/IK1ObzJUzs

— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) October 28, 2026

The opening weekend was a close race. ‘Clayface’ opened at No. 1 with around $24 million from 3,458 theaters. ‘You Can See Everything’ took in $19.5 million in its second weekend, and ‘Wildwood’ debuted in third place with $11 million.

Audiences seem to be recommending the film to friends. It earned an A- CinemaScore, the same grade as ‘Superman’ and ‘The Batman’, which is rare for horror. Gunn has pointed out that ‘Sinners’ is the only horror film ever to earn a straight A.

Watch the first trailer for #Clayface. The new DC horror film is in theaters October 23. https://t.co/gqrrtJSou5

— Rotten Tomatoes 🍅 (@RottenTomatoes) April 22, 2026

Cost is a big part of the story. The Associated Press reported a $40 million budget, while other outlets put the production cost at $44 million before marketing. Either way, that is a fraction of what a typical superhero blockbuster costs.

Not everyone thinks the numbers add up yet. ComicBookMovie.com estimated the worldwide breakeven point at about $110 million. It warned that a typical superhero-sized second-weekend drop would make that hard to reach, especially after a soft $4.3 million international Friday across 76 markets.

Critics have been much more divided than audiences. The film has a Rotten Tomatoes critics score in the mid-70s, but its Metacritic score of 59 tells a messier story. Reviewers have praised Tom Rhys Harries in his first major lead role and the film’s practical effects, while others call the script thin and derivative.

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

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 7, 2026

James Watkins directed the film, which follows Matt Hagen, a Gotham street kid who became a Hollywood star. After a crime boss disfigures him, Hagen turns to an experimental treatment that loosens his grip on reality. Naomi Ackie, Eddie Marsan, David Dencik and Max Minghella round out the cast.

DC never set out to make a conventional cape movie. “From the get-go, this was not designed to be a traditional superhero movie,” Safran told the Associated Press. He described a project the studio hoped would work as a horror film on its own terms.

The timing could hardly be better. Halloween falls this Saturday, which gives the film a clear window to keep building on word of mouth while horror fans are looking for something to watch.

If ‘Clayface’ can carry Tuesday’s momentum into the holiday weekend, DC Studios would get a much-needed win. It would also suggest that smaller, genre-driven projects can sit comfortably alongside the studio’s bigger franchise films.

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