After 'Supergirl,' DC's Much Cheaper Horror Gamble Is Already Paying Off

When James Gunn was first announced as the new head of DC Studios back in 2022, there were high hopes for his new cinematic universe. Gunn had come off a run of successful Guardians of the Galaxy movies in the MCU, and fans had grown tired of Zack Snyder's dark and dreary take on some of DC's most beloved characters. Gunn's DCU officially began in 2024 with the release of the animated HBO series, Creature Commandos, but it officially launched in live-action the next summer with the debut of Superman. The film was a massive hit at the box office, but things didn't exactly follow the same path for the next DCU movie, Supergirl, which flew into theaters back in June. Supergirl proved to be the first real test for the DCU under Gunn and his co-boss Peter Safran.

Led by Milly Alcock, Supergirl came into theaters carrying a $170 million budget. This left the film with an estimated break-even point of around $350 million, but Supergirl eked out only $126 million during its global run, falling well short of early projections and finishing its run as a colossal bomb for the DCU. The third DCU film, Clayface, just began playing in theaters not long ago, and it's already off to a much better start than Supergirl. This past weekend, Clayface opened in the #1 spot at the box office with a $24 million domestic haul during its opening weekend. The film has since added almost $10 million, bringing its domestic total to $33 million and its international haul to $28 million, leaving its global total at $61 million heading into its second weekend in theaters.

Here's How 'Clayface' Is Poised To Finish Its Theatrical Run

DC made Clayface for only $40 million, meaning the film needs anywhere from $80 million to $100 million to break even. With it sitting at $61 million heading into its second weekend in theaters and poised to receive a boost from good word-of-mouth reviews, it's likely that it gets across the finish line before the end of its run. Clayface was directed by James Watkins and co-written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. Tom Rhys Harries, who featured as Power Noel in Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen (2019) stars in the lead role of Matt Hagen in DCU's Clayface movie.