DC Studios’ first foray into horror, Clayface, is now playing in cinemas around the world and we’re getting the first reports on its performance. After taking a reported $3.5M during Thursday previews, the film has gone on to make a reported $9.5M in its opening day and earned itself an impressive CinemaScore from audiences.
As reported by Deadline, early reporting of Friday box office receipts is putting the film at a sturdy $9.5M. That performance has shifted the weekend estimates to a potential $23-25M, a figure which is being backed up by the studio themselves. Warner Bros. and DC will be hoping the film hasn’t been front-loaded by fans and continues to perform well across the weekend. If those numbers come to pass then Clayface will have kicked-off in the vicinity of other mid-October genre movies like Smile ($22.6M opening) and last year’s Black Phone 2 ($27.2M).
Internationally, the studio is expecting Clayface to make an additional $20-25M with numbers due to be reported later in the weekend. As present the film is expect to debut with between $40-50M worldwide. The production budget (before marketing costs) is being widely reported as $44M.
Meanwhile, after debuting with a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes the film has settled at 94% with over 1,000 verified ratings from fans. The studio also has reason to celebrate as Clayface has received an A- CinemaScore from audiences. Fans polled across the country on opening night have given DC’s first horror a record high score for a body horror film. It’s also the joint highest score for a DCU release, tied with last year’s Superman. In the pantheon of DC films only Wonder Woman and Shazam! have scored higher.
Watch our interview with Clayface director James Watkins in the player below:
In our four star review of the film Neil says “Brave, bloody and anchored by a magnetic Tom Rhys Harries. Clayface doesn’t always go for the throat, but as a comic book and body horror hybrid it’s certainly memorable one.”
Matt Hagen’s meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is tragically cut short when a local crime boss’s actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team and with nothing left, Matt seeks out a cutting edge treatment that miraculously returns him to his former self… but also unexpectedly affects his grip on reality, spiraling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Studios release Clayface in cinemas on October 23, 2026.
