Clayface opened with $24 million last weekend, but will it hold on to #1 over Halloween? Boxoffice PRO currently expects the DC Studios movie to slip to second place with a projected $10 million to $15 million haul.
A24's hit documentary You Can See Everything will likely move into that top spot with $12 million to $17 million, but as is evident from these numbers, it's going to be a very tight race. However, while Clayface isn't set to enjoy a huge Halloween bump, the numbers suggest the R-rated DCU title may have legs.
If it gets to $15 million, that's a drop of only 37.5%, which is rare for a superhero movie. $10 million would be closer to 58.3%, and only a result on that lower end would be considered cause for concern.
Clayface's A- CinemaScore and 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes' Popcornmeter seem to be helping. Plus, with a $44 million production budget, the horror movie doesn't have as much on the line as Supergirl, for example.
If the film falls 37.5% to $15 million, that would be a promising hold. A 50% decline to $12 million would be fairly ordinary, while a 58.3% drop to $10 million would suggest that the opening weekend was front-loaded. Ultimately, anything close to $15 million would point to the movie having a decent chance of developing legs.
However, there's an important distinction between a good second-weekend hold and a profitable theatrical run. A strong U.S. run will be hugely beneficial, but Clayface needs to generate enough worldwide box office to cover not just production costs but also marketing and the exhibitors' share of ticket sales. The potential issue there is that Clayface had a soft start internationally with a $19 million debut.
In Clayface, 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, spiralling him down a destructive path of all-consuming revenge.
The movie stars Tom Rhys Harries in the title role of the "cult-favourite" villain from Gotham's rogues' gallery. The cast includes Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan, as well as Nancy Carroll and Joshua James.
We concluded our Clayface review by saying, "Tom Rhys Harries shines in Clayface, an uninspired and unoriginal movie that's too light on horror and lacking in comic book personality to be anything but forgettable. It should have been a game-changer for the genre; instead, it's DC's Morbius moment."
Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, Clayface is now playing in theaters.