'Clayface' Opens With Less Than 45% of 'Supergirl's Box Office Preview Haul

DC is getting pretty nasty just in time for Halloween. Clayface is now in theaters, bringing Batman's shapeshifting villain into the DC Universe with Tom Rhys Harries underneath all that ruined skin. Directed by James Watkins, the body-horror movie is a big departure from the studio's last theatrical release, Supergirl, and a perfectly grimy and gruesome introduction to its version of Gotham.

It is also a different kind of bet for James Gunn and Peter Safran. A Batman villain can certainly get comic-book fans into seats, but the horror audience could be just as important for a movie releasing just eight days before Halloween. Whether that combination can carry Clayface through its opening weekend is the question, especially after Supergirl struggled at the box office this summer.

Clayface brought in an estimated $3.5 million or more during Thursday previews, putting its initial estimate at roughly $4.3 million behind Supergirl's $7.8 million preview total, although it's important to remember that Supergirl's total also included Wednesday fan screenings in addition to Thursday previews. Clayface's figure is also an early estimate, so that gap could change when the updated numbers arrive. The horror movie does have the stronger critical reception, entering the weekend with a 75% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with Supergirl's 52%.

'Clayface' Has a Much Smaller Budget Than 'Supergirl'

Coming in below Supergirl does not put Clayface in the same financial position. The reported production budget for Clayface was $44 million before marketing, compared with Supergirl's reported $170 million. That is a $126 million difference before either movie's advertising costs are taken into account, giving Clayface a substantially lower production cost to recover.

Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, Clayface makes a hell of a case for letting Batman's weirdest villains have their own horror movies. Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor whose attempt to repair his disfigured face leaves him trapped in an increasingly monstrous body. Harries gives the grotesque transformation someone worth caring about underneath it, making Matt's desperation hurt even when the movie is at its nastiest. His chemistry with Naomi Ackie, who plays Dr. Caitlyn Corr, makes their increasingly dangerous relationship just as compelling as the body horror.

Early domestic forecasts place Clayface's opening weekend between $20 million and $25 million. Its Thursday turnout is the first piece of that picture, with the rest of the weekend still to determine whether DC fans showed up early or horror audiences will keep the theaters busy. The timing gives it a chance to become a Halloween outing, provided viewers are willing to spend part of their weekend watching Matt Hagen fall apart.

Clayface is now playing in theaters.