Warner Bros. and DC Studios' body-horror origin film Clayface claimed the top spot at the domestic box office on Friday, October 23, pulling in $10.4 million across 3,458 North American theaters, according to Variety. That figure includes $3.5 million generated from Thursday night previews. While the comic book adaptation is pacing toward an opening weekend between $24 million and $25 million, it faces unexpected pressure from A24's Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything, which expanded wide on Friday to gross $6.14 million and is projected to earn up to $20 million in its second frame.

The weekend sets up an unusual theatrical showdown ahead of Halloween: a mid-budget supervillain genre piece squaring off against a three-hour nonfiction feature experiencing surging word-of-mouth momentum. Early estimates varied as Friday receipts rolled in; Deadline initially estimated a $9.5 million Friday for Clayface before revising its Saturday morning figures upward to match the $10.4 million consensus reported by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

DC Studios Finds Footing With Mid-Budget Horror

Directed by James Watkins, Clayface stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising actor who undergoes a volatile experimental medical procedure conducted by a scientist (played by Naomi Ackie) after his face is severely disfigured. The cast also includes David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan. In addition to its domestic haul, the film added $4.3 million internationally on Friday.

The projected $24 million to $25 million three-day domestic launch falls slightly below Warner Bros.' initial studio projection of $25 million to $30 million, though pre-release industry tracking varied widely from $18 million on the low end to $35 million on the high end, according to Variety's preview reporting. However, because Clayface carries a modest $44 million production budget, the opening represents a solid financial start for DC Studios.

The film's disciplined budget stands in stark contrast to recent DC tentpoles. While 2025's Superman grossed $618.72 million globally against a nearly $230 million budget, Supergirl struggled earlier this year, opening to $37.1 million domestically and finishing with $126 million worldwide on a $170 million price tag.

Critical and audience metrics for Clayface have also outperformed expectations for a horror-adjacent comic book entry. The film secured an A- CinemaScore—matching Superman and easily clearing the B- earned by Supergirl and the B for The Flash. It holds a 76% critics score and a 94% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Even without IMAX screens, which remain locked by Paramount and Legendary's Street Fighter, Premium Large Format (PLF) auditoriums are driving nearly half of the weekend's gross. Demographic data from Deadline indicates that 73% of Friday ticket buyers were between the ages of 18 and 34, with Caucasian moviegoers making up 36% of the audience and Hispanic and Latino attendees accounting for 35%.

A24's Elizabeth Holmes Documentary Shatters Records

While Clayface holds the daily lead, industry analysts are closely watching the expansion of You Can See Everything. Co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the documentary quietly filmed for over three years, following disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her partner during the month prior to the start of her 11-year federal prison sentence for defrauding investors.

After launching on October 16 in 855 theaters—where it pulled in an initial weekend gross reported at $15.6 million by ScreenRant and Deadline, and a rounded $15 million by The Hollywood Reporter—the film expanded to 2,655 North American locations on Friday (The Hollywood Reporter cited a rounded 2,600 locations). That opening marked the largest launch for a nonmusical documentary in 20 years and the highest-grossing debut for a film in under 1,000 theaters since Borat in 2006.

Friday's $6.14 million gross pushed the documentary's domestic cumulative total to $31.7 million. While an early Friday update from Deadline projected a $5.8 million Friday and a second weekend north of $19 million, Saturday morning updates from Deadline put the three-day frame between $19 million and $20 million, aligning with the $20 million projections cited by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

According to ScreenRant, a $19 million to $20 million sophomore frame represents a week-over-week box office increase of 21.8% to 28.2%, setting an all-time record for the best second-weekend performance of any A24 release that debuted on more than 600 screens. Audience reception has fueled the expansion: the film holds a 98% critics score and 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a 5-star PostTrak rating with a 79% definite recommend. Men and women are turning out in an exact 50/50 split, with moviegoers under 35 accounting for 66% of ticket sales. A24 plans to campaign the film for the 99th Academy Awards not only for Best Documentary Feature, but across major categories including Best Picture and Best Director.

'Wildwood,' 'Street Fighter,' and 'Wicker' Round Out Top Five

Claiming third place on Friday was Laika's stop-motion animated fantasy Wildwood, distributed via Fathom Entertainment. Directed by Travis Knight and featuring the voices of Carey Mulligan, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, and Jacob Tremblay, the film earned $4.28 million on Friday from 2,942 theaters (reported as a rounded $4.2 million by Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter). It is projected to finish the three-day weekend with $11 million to $11.2 million. Despite carrying a steep $100 million production budget, the film has earned a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore, positioning it for an awards season run.

Last weekend's box office leader, Street Fighter, dropped to fourth place for the weekend projection. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and starring Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, and Callina Liang, the video game adaptation is expected to decline roughly 73% to $8.4 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $46.7 million.

Rounding out the top five is Black Bear's romantic fantasy comedy Wicker, directed by Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer and starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard. The film grossed $2.36 million on Friday (including Thursday previews) across 1,471 locations and is tracking toward a $5.5 million opening weekend.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Clayface's opening compare to expectations and other DC movies?

Clayface is projected to earn $24 million to $25 million domestically in its opening weekend, landing just below Warner Bros.' pre-release projection of $25 million to $30 million. However, because the film cost $44 million to produce—compared to $170 million for Supergirl and nearly $230 million for Superman—the turnout is viewed positively by box office analysts.

Why is the Elizabeth Holmes documentary seeing a box office increase in week two?

You Can See Everything expanded from 855 theaters in its opening weekend to 2,655 theaters in its second week. Combined with an A24 marketing push, a 97% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, and a 79% definite recommend on PostTrak, the theater expansion allowed the film to grow its audience by an estimated 21.8% to 28.2% over its $15.6 million debut.

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