Warner Bros. and Paramount’s newly combined box office slate is eyeing a second number-one opening
Warner Bros. and Paramount’s newly combined box office slate is eyeing a second number-one opening as the R-rated horror-leaning DC entry Clayface grossed an estimated $3.5 million or more in Thursday previews starting at 2 p.m., according to Deadline.
Domestic weekend forecasts for the James Watkins-directed film sit between $20 million and $25 million. If those projections hold, the title will follow last weekend’s $31 million opener Street Fighter to the top of the box office chart.
Mike Flanagan Scripts Standalone Film About Matt Hagen
The project moved into active development after screenwriter Mike Flanagan delivered a script in December 2024 that excited Peter Safran and James Gunn. Shot in the UK, the standalone feature carries a net production cost of $44 million before prints and advertising. The story centers on Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor played by Tom Rhys Harries, whose career derails after a disastrous party encounter. WSJ noted that the film explores the unsettling nature of Method acting within an allegorical framework, while omitting major Batman universe figures entirely despite the title character’s origins in a 1940 comic.
Clayface Preview Earnings Outpace Kraven the Hunter
Clayface outperformed several comparable releases in Thursday preview earnings. Its figures outpace Sony and Marvel’s R-rated Kraven the Hunter, which pulled in $2 million in previews ahead of an $11 million opening, as well as 2022’s Smile at $2 million and Digger at $1.2 million. The preview gross tracks close to the pre-COVID PG-13 DC spinoff Birds of Prey at $4 million and Blumhouse Atomic Monster’s Other Mommy at $3.6 million.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 76 percent certified fresh critics score. That reception sits above several previous DC releases, including The Flash at 63 percent, Supergirl at 52 percent, Joker: Folie à Deux at 31 percent, Shazam! Fury of the Gods at 49 percent, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom at 33 percent, while trailing Birds of Prey at 79 percent. Box Office Theory noted that pre-sale samples lagged behind titles like Supergirl and Joker: Folie à Deux, estimating an opening range between $15 million and $23 million.
Historical Precedents in Mid-Budget DC Releases
The studio’s push into lower-budget genre fare echoes earlier experiments with DC and Vertigo properties. In 2010, The Losers cost $25 million before marketing, opening to $9.4 million on its way to a $23.5 million domestic final. That same year, the Josh Brolin and Megan Fox fantasy western Jonah Hex stumbled with a $5.3 million opening against a $47 million production budget, finishing at $10.5 million domestically. Earlier in 2005, the Wachowski-adapted V for Vendetta secured a number-one North American opening off a production cost, eventually closing its domestic run and a global total.
Exhibitors are also tracking the weekend holds for A24’s documentary You Can See Everything, co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, which expands to 2,600 locations following a $15.6 million opening. Meanwhile, Fathom’s release of Laika’s stop-motion animated feature Wildwood, directed by Travis Knight, brought in roughly a million in previews against a 100 percent critical score and a 98 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with box office tracking pointing toward a double-digit opening.