Clayface Eyes a Big Opening as a Documentary Pushes for No. 1

Warner Bros. and DC's R-rated horror film Clayface is projected to open to $25 million to $35 million in North American cinemas this weekend, according to Variety. "North American" means the United States and Canada, which the industry calls domestic. The film opens on Friday, October 23, in about 3,400 theatres.

Rival forecasts sit lower, at $22 million to $28 million, the same report said. Either range would make it a strong start for a film built around a Batman villain, though the figures are still forecasts.

The film is a body-horror thriller. It follows a rising movie star who volunteers for an experimental medical procedure after his face is disfigured. James Watkins directed it. Variety has put its production budget at about $40 million.

The main challenge may come from a documentary. A24's You Can See Everything, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, could collect $20 million to $25 million in its second weekend, Variety reported. It is expanding from 855 theatres to 2,600 venues, which would put it in position to contest the top spot.

Its debut was $15.6 million from those 855 theatres. Variety described that as the biggest opening for a nonmusical documentary in 20 years. Deadline reported that the film took the top Monday box office with $2.5 million, on October 20. Variety put its domestic total at $20.8 million at the time of its report.

The film is also reaching beyond North America. Variety reported that it was aiming for $20 million to $25 million overseas from 76 markets, for a global total of $45 million to $55 million. The production cost was $44 million.

Other openers are smaller. Laika's stop-motion animated film Wildwood was tracking a debut of $6 million to $8 million from more than 2,000 theatres, according to Variety. The studio's reported budget for the film is $100 million. Sony's Klara and the Sun was estimated to open to about $2 million from roughly 850 cinemas.

For DC, the stakes are visible in its recent history. Variety noted that Supergirl earned $126 million against a $170 million budget, which it called a step back for the studio's comic book ambitions. A solid Clayface opening would give the studio a different story to tell for the autumn.

Weekend numbers come in stages. Sunday figures are studio estimates, and they stay estimates until Monday's actuals confirm or adjust them. Until then, the ranking of the top two films is open.