Struggles for Clayface in the Box Office Race
Clayface, the latest addition to the DC Universe under James Gunn, is facing lackluster reviews and disappointing box-office projections, making Supergirl seem like a blockbuster by comparison.
As reported, “Even though trailers hinted at an entertaining flick for horror enthusiasts, pre-sales for the movie are falling behind the least successful film in the DCU so far.” Current estimates show that Clayface’s domestic pre-sales are lagging by 80% when compared to Supergirl’s pre-sales during the same period before its release.
The analysis further reveals that when compared to a similar genre film, Resident Evil, Clayface is tracking 66% lower in pre-sales. This has led to expectations of an opening weekend revenue of around $20 million.
Some forecasts suggest that the opening weekend for Clayface could even fall into the teen range.
The challenges for Clayface are threefold…
Firstly, the DC brand has taken hits from the poorly received Supergirl and backlash against HBO’s Lanterns series. Despite all the promotion, I think it’s fair to say that 2025’s Superman didn’t do too well either.
On top of that, the reviews aren’t particularly glowing. A 77 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t disastrous, but it hardly sparks excitement.
Lastly, Clayface is competing against what appears to be a significant contender: You Can See Everything, a three-hour documentary about the now-disgraced Theranos founder, Elizabeth Holmes. After debuting in 855 theaters last weekend, it is set to expand to 2,655 theaters due to impressive earnings — totaling $21 million so far. It’s even possible that its second weekend could outperform Clayface, which would be quite a blow for the DC brand.
If Clayface falls short at the box office, the silver lining for Gunn might be its relatively low production cost. Overall, with production and marketing, it comes to about $100 million. To break even, it needs around $200 million in global earnings. Failing to reach that target could lead to some tough conversations.
The expectations for Clayface have declined over time. Earlier this month, some predictions suggested an opening between $23 million and $33 million.
Additionally, set to open this weekend is Sacha Baron Cohen’s pro-censorship film, Ali G: Who Iz I?, which had been forecasted to pull in $6 million to $10 million. That seems overly optimistic, but it’s hard to say. Amazon/MGM doesn’t seem to believe much in it either, as the initially planned broad theatrical release has been trimmed to just this single weekend.
So, I can’t help but wonder: Was there a demand for a Clayface movie in the first place?
