DC’s ‘Clayface’ Gets a Final Runtime

DC Studios is about to try something new with ‘Clayface’, its first outright horror film, and the ‘Clayface‘ runtime is starting to tell us what kind of movie to expect. Director James Watkins built his reputation on tight, tension-driven films like ‘Eden Lake’ and ‘Speak No Evil’, so a lean cut would fit his style.

Runtime talk has been swirling for months. A scooper claimed in June that the film was approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, another report put it at 110 minutes, and a more recent rumor pointed to about 1 hour and 45 minutes. A Czech distributor listing then reportedly put the film at 108 minutes, though that remained a distributor listing rather than a studio confirmation.

Now the number looks official. An AMC theater listing has confirmed that the final runtime for ‘Clayface’ will be 1 hour and 48 minutes, slightly shorter than the previously reported 1 hour and 53 minutes. The film lands in theaters in North America on October 23.

The figure carries an interesting coincidence. ‘Supergirl’ also came in at 108 minutes, which means the two DC Universe films are exactly the same length. One outlet noted that most fans will be hoping ‘Clayface’ has little else in common with ‘Supergirl’, which it described as a much-maligned solo adventure.

The runtime ties the two for the shortest film in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe. Of course, the parallel does not mean much beyond a numerical curiosity.

At 108 minutes, ‘Clayface’ would sit just below ‘Birds of Prey’, which ran 109 minutes. It is also much shorter than Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker’, which ran 2 hours and 2 minutes, and its sequel ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, which ran 2 hours and 18 minutes.

Only a handful of DC films have run shorter, including ‘Jonah Hex’ at 81 minutes and the 1951 film ‘Superman and the Mole Men’ at 58 minutes. That places ‘Clayface’ among the leanest theatrical DC releases ever.

A tighter runtime could work in the film’s favor. Watkins built his name on lean, unsettling movies, and a shorter cut keeps the focus on Matt Hagen’s physical and emotional transformation.

It also suits the film’s reported budget of about $40 million. Heavy CGI work on a shapeshifting villain is easier to sustain across 108 minutes than a bloated two-hour cut.

The final trailer for DC's ‘CLAYFACE’ has been released.

In theaters on October 23. pic.twitter.com/ecTMB97Sto

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 24, 2026

‘Clayface’ follows Matt Hagen, played by Tom Rhys Harries, whose meteoric rise from Gotham street kid to Hollywood leading man is cut short when a crime boss’s actions leave him horribly disfigured. Abandoned by his team, he seeks out a cutting-edge treatment that returns him to his former self but also affects his grip on reality, spiraling him toward all-consuming revenge.

Naomi Ackie plays the doctor who inadvertently transforms him, and the cast also includes David Dencik, Max Minghella, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll and Joshua James. Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini wrote the screenplay, with a story by Flanagan, and Matt Reeves, Lynn Harris, James Gunn and Peter Safran produce.

Watkins has said the towering final form, with a gaping mouth and deep cavernous eyes, will be kept out of all official marketing for the first DCU horror movie.

Reports suggest the film went over well with test screening audiences, drawing comparisons to ‘Joker’, ‘Vanilla Sky’, ‘The Substance’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’. Early screenings have also reportedly shown a more grounded approach to the character’s powers, with Hagen experiencing disturbing mutations rather than becoming a giant CGI creature.

The film is R-rated and reportedly avoids major crossover elements, including any Batman appearances. It exists outside Reeves’ Batman franchise but remains part of the wider DC Universe, as the third film in Gunn and Safran’s new slate.

‘Clayface’ arrives in North American theaters on October 23, with an international release beginning on October 21.

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