DC's horror-leaning Clayface opened to a solid start worldwide, earning $46.5 million across its international and domestic markets over the weekend of October 23 to 25. Its domestic debut came in at $24 million from 3,458 theaters, the lowest opening so far for the DC Universe. Against the openings of Superman at $125 million and Supergirl at $37.1 million, the result was modest, but the studio had kept the production budget at $44 million, which left the film in a comfortable position.
Clayface was marketed as a body horror thriller rather than a conventional superhero release, a niche subgenre that limits its audience. The closest comparison cited was The Substance, which earned $17.5 million, though that film was an original property with a smaller distributor. The character comes from Batman's rogue gallery, and while the Batman connection was largely absent from the marketing, Warner Bros. drew horror fans, aided by the weak reception of the film Other Mommy, which left audiences looking for alternatives during the season.
Reviews were solid rather than glowing, with a 75 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. According to Warner Bros., the audience skewed male, and 73 percent fell in the 18 to 34 age range. CinemaScore gave the film an A minus, a grade typically associated with horror titles that hold up well in later weekends. Because the second weekend coincides with Halloween, the studio can expect a decent drop, and the film is positioned to reach around $60 million domestically.
A24's You Can See Everything continued to climb as the company expanded the documentary to 2,655 theaters after a limited opening the previous week. The film rose 25 percent to $19.5 million in its second weekend, a stronger hold than Fahrenheit 9/11, which earned $16.4 million in its own second weekend. The result sets a new record for the best second weekend for a documentary. Its per-theater average of $7,345 also edged out Clayface's $6,941.
Through ten days, You Can See Everything has grossed $45.1 million, making it the third-biggest non-music documentary of all time. It trails Fahrenheit 9/11 by $10.3 million at the same point in its run, but its strong numbers and sustained word of mouth give it a realistic chance to reach $100 million domestically.
The weekend's biggest disappointment was Wildwood, the Laika stop-motion animated film distributed by Fathom Events, which opened in third place with $12.2 million from 2,942 theaters. That is the studio's fifth-biggest debut, behind Kubo and the Two Strings, ParaNorman, Coraline, and The Boxtrolls. Measured against a reported production budget of $100 million, the opening represents just 11 percent of that cost, and it fell short of the level needed to reach Laika's top three openings.
Analysts pointed to several factors behind the soft performance. Stop-motion remains a niche format, and Wildwood marked the biggest debut in the category since Kubo. The film is a dark fantasy rated PG-13 with a 131-minute runtime, which narrows its appeal beyond family audiences. It also lacked the backing of a major studio, as earlier Laika releases were handled by Focus Features and MGM, while Fathom has built its reputation on re-releases and special events rather than wide blockbuster launches. Only two Laika films, Chicken Run and Coraline, have crossed $100 million domestically. Critics have been more positive, with Wildwood holding a 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and 87 on Metacritic.
Overall, the top ten films earned a combined $87.9 million over the weekend, up 27.3 percent from the same weekend last year, when Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc led the box office ahead of Regretting You and Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.