Clayface rolls into the box office fray but faces competition from the second weekend of You Can See Everything as the buzzy Elizabeth Holmes documentary expands.
Warner Bros. released director James Watkins’ body-horror feature Clayface in more than 3,400 North American theaters and it grossed $10.4 million domestically on Friday, including Thursday previews, adding $4.3 million internationally for the day. Earning an A- CinemaScore from audiences, Clayface could be headed for around $24 million domestically for the weekend, which would be just under the studio’s initial projection of $25 million to $30 million.
This marks the first DC Studios movie to launch since Supergirl had a disappointing opening of $37.1 million domestically over the summer on a $170 million budget. The $44 million-budgeted Clayface has impressed critics more than Supergirl, with a 76 score from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes and a 94 from audiences. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Frank Scheck called Clayface “a big swing that definitely pays off.” Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie star in the story of Matt Hagen (Harries), an actor who turns to a scientist (Ackie) for assistance when his face becomes disfigured.
You Can See Everything collected $6.1 million on Friday from 2,600 North American locations to bring its domestic cume to $31.7 million. The A24 film, which has been building awards buzz, adds to last weekend’s momentum and could collect $20 million in its sophomore frame. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim‘s documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Holmes widened after opening with $15 million from 855 theaters domestically, which gave it the highest-grossing launch for a release under 1,000 theaters since 2006’s Borat.
Naomi Ackie (left) and Tom Rhys Harries in Clayface.
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Looking to take third place is Laika’s stop-motion animated movie Wildwood, grossing $4.2 million Friday and heading to an expected $11.2 million for the weekend. Carey Mulligan, Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay lead the voice cast for Travis Knight’s feature about a teen girl venturing to an enchanted forest to save her baby brother. Earning an A CinemaScore, Wildwood holds a dazzling 100 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Scheck heralding it as “stupendous in every aspect.”
After winning the box office battle last weekend, Paramount and Legendary’s Street Fighter looks to land around $8.4 million with a roughly 73 percent decline to move its domestic cume to $46.7 million. Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji and Callina Liang lead director Kitao Sakurai’s adaptation of the Capcom video game centering on a combat tournament.
Wildwood
Courtesy of Laika
Likely to round out the top five is Black Bear’s romantic fantasy Wicker, which picked up $2.3 million domestically on Friday, including Thursday previews, from 1,471 North American theaters and is expected to open with $5.5 million. Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard star in directors Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer’s movie about a woman in a quiet village who gets a wicker husband.
In his review for THR, critic Richard Lawson praised Wicker’s “winning mix of irreverence and compassion.” It holds a 94 score on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences.
Opening quietly in 880 North American theaters from Sony Pictures is Taika Waititi‘s Klara and the Sun, which made $300,000 and heads to around $725,000 for the weekend. Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams lead the adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about a robot companion connecting with a sick girl. THR chief film critic David Rooney deemed it a “wretched mess.”
Additionally, Amazon MGM Studios releases Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G: Who Iz I? in just 125 theaters on only Friday and Saturday ahead of its Prime Video debut.