“Clayface” expected to open with $23–33 million: the first forecasts for the DC Studios horror

The first DC Studios horror film, “Clayface”, has received its first box-office forecasts: as Boxoffice Pro reports, the long-range tracking places the opening between $23 and $33 million on opening weekend in North America — news made known according to DiscussingFilm on 2 October. An even earlier estimate, as Box Office Theory writes, placed expectations between $20 and $26 million.

Directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, “Clayface” opens in cinemas on 23 October. At the centre of the story is Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a Hollywood actor who is disfigured after a clash with the local mafia — an origin story with strong body-horror nuances and an R rating.

With a budget of $40 million, the film would turn a profit at around $80–100 million in total worldwide. “Clayface” is the third theatrical release of James Gunn’s new DC universe. The most interesting detail of the forecast: only 32% of the public knows the film, but 21% of those who know it say they will see it on opening weekend — a small, but very determined audience.

As context, Watkins’s last film, “Speak No Evil” (2024), opened with $11.3 million, while as a reference point for a supervillain spinoff, “Black Adam” opened with $67 million in late October. Boxoffice Pro also forecasts “Supergirl” at $45–55 million: the film has had a disappointing run, but has already passed $100 million worldwide.

In the opening-weekend race, “Clayface” will face “Wildwood”, which opens on the same day and is forecast between $10 and $15 million, while “Street Fighter” arrives in cinemas a week earlier in IMAX.