DC Studios’ Clayface has cleared a major box office hurdle only two weeks into its theatrical run, even as theaters drop the film from hundreds of screens. The James Watkins-directed horror thriller has now broken even, a feat that few underrated superhero releases manage today.
Clayface box office goes past its break-even point
Clayface has crossed the break-even line theatrically. The film has pulled in $56.6 million domestically and $52.4 million internationally, pushing its global box office haul to $109 million. Against a reported production budget of $40 million to $44 million, that total makes the R-rated project a modest win for DC Studios (via Box Office Mojo).
The milestone stands out because Clayface plays like a horror movie rather than a franchise tentpole. The film got positive reviews from critics and audiences and holds a Certified Fresh 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the box office performance comes with a caveat. The movie lost more than 530 theaters as it entered its third week, after opening in 3,458 locations (via Collider).
The film added roughly $7 million this weekend, lifting its domestic total to nearly $60 million. Godzilla Minus Zero, meanwhile, claimed the top spot with $31.6 million from 3,254 theaters, which suggests Clayface has likely peaked.
Even so, it has already passed director James Watkins’ Speak No Evil, which collected $77 million worldwide on a $15 million budget. It should soon overtake Watkins’ The Woman in Black, which grossed around $130 million. Clayface also stays on track to beat this year’s Supergirl, which finished near $125 million worldwide while costing almost four times as much.
The new DCU film stars Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan. It unfolds in an alternate Gotham City, separate from Matt Reeves’ The Batman continuity. That setup gives DC Studios room to greenlight more small-budget films built around Batman’s rogues’ gallery, though the studio has not confirmed those plans. For now, Clayface has proven that a lean budget and strong reviews can carry a comic book movie at the box office.
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