Clayface Opens No. 1 at the Box Office With About $24 Million, Edging Holmes Documentary
Clayface took first place at the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $24 million from 3,458 theaters, according to studio estimates reported by industry outlets. The opening was close, with a documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes right behind.
The weekend numbers
| Film | Weekend (est.) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Clayface | ~$24.0M | 3,458 theaters, opening weekend |
| You Can See Everything | ~$19.5M | Second weekend, up about 25% |
Overseas, Clayface added roughly $19 million, for about $43 million worldwide. That is close to the film's reported $44 million production budget, so the debut is a modest rather than a blockbuster start. Figures are studio estimates, and final numbers are published on Monday and may differ slightly; one outlet cited $24.5 million for the domestic opening.
A documentary that keeps growing
You Can See Everything, the A24 documentary about Holmes, increased its take in its second weekend by adding about 1,800 screens. Its total was reported at roughly $45 million, which makes it one of the more notable performers of the autumn season.
What comes next
Box Office Mojo's daily chart showed Clayface at about $31.8 million in domestic receipts after its first six days in release, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day remains the year's top domestic release at about $959 million. The next major tentpole on the calendar is Dune: Part Three, which opens on December 18 and has just received a final trailer.
How Clayface holds in its second weekend will show whether word of mouth can lift a start that analysts described as below the level of recent comic-book releases.
Reading the opening
A worldwide debut of about $43 million against a $44 million budget is not unusual for the first weekend, since studios also spend on marketing and keep only part of ticket sales. Analysts will therefore watch the second weekend drop and the international rollout more closely than the opening itself.
The close finish with a documentary is the more unusual part of the story. Few non-fiction films reach the top of the weekend chart, and the result shows how crowded and unpredictable the pre-holiday release calendar has become. Awards season is also starting, with the Gotham Film Awards having announced its nominations this week.
