‘Clayface’ and ‘Wildwood’ Beat Sunday Box Office Projections as DC’s Horror Bet and Laika’s Stop-Motion Epic Both Surge
Few weekends in recent memory have carried as much quiet pressure as this one. After a summer of rough box office headlines, DC Studios needed a win from ‘Clayface‘, and Laika needed ‘Wildwood’ to prove that handmade animation can still pull in crowds. Early tracking left both films looking uncertain.
‘Clayface’ is an R-rated body-horror origin story directed by James Watkins from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. It is the third theatrical release in James Gunn’s DC Universe, following ‘Superman’ and a ‘Supergirl’ that underwhelmed this summer.
Pre-release signals were mixed. Tracking had presales running well behind ‘Supergirl’, and a sub-$20 million opening was floated at one point. ‘Wildwood‘ faced its own uphill climb, with tracking in the $6 million to $10 million range against a budget of roughly $100 million.
CLAYFACE and WILDWOOD overperformed Sunday projections. CLAYFACE opened to $46M worldwide, $3M more than yesterday and will soon overtake SUPERGIRL ($126M). While WILDWOOD recorded one of Laika’s biggest domestic debuts ever, with $12.3M! https://t.co/QqSPAUy8yW
— Global Box Office (@GlobalBoxOffice) October 26, 2026
Updated Sunday figures show both films overperforming. ‘Clayface’ has opened to $46 million worldwide, $3 million more than the earlier estimate, and is expected to soon overtake ‘Supergirl’, which finished with about $126 million. ‘Wildwood’ recorded one of Laika’s biggest domestic debuts ever, with $12.3 million.
Those figures nudge up from the weekend estimates. Earlier tallies had ‘Clayface’ at $24 million domestically plus $19 million from 76 international territories for $43 million worldwide. ‘Wildwood’ was then estimated at $11.6 million.
The studio had projected $25 million to $30 million domestically for ‘Clayface’, so it landed at the low end of that range before the Sunday bump. Even so, it took the No. 1 spot, marking the second win for the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. since the merger, following ‘Street Fighter’.
The numbers look different against the budget. ‘Clayface’ reportedly cost around $44 million, and some estimates put break-even at roughly $88 million to $110 million worldwide. That is a far more reachable target than ‘Supergirl’, which grossed about $126 million against a $170 million budget.
Audiences have responded well. The film earned an A- CinemaScore, and sits at 76% from critics and about 94% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. One analyst warned it may have short legs as a horror film, but the Halloween weekend ahead could help.
Watch the first trailer for #Clayface. The new DC horror film is in theaters October 23. https://t.co/gqrrtJSou5
— Rotten Tomatoes 🍅 (@RottenTomatoes) April 22, 2026
For comparison, the first film in the slate, ‘Superman’, opened to $125 million domestically and grossed more than $618 million worldwide. ‘Supergirl’ opened to roughly $37 million. ‘Clayface’ is a much smaller swing, and one that DC may now be able to call a success.
For Laika, a $12.3 million opening is a notable result. ‘Wildwood’ opened in 2,942 theaters via Fathom Entertainment, and a $1 million preview night and $4.2 million Friday had suggested a modest weekend. Its Sunday jump suggests word of mouth did its job.
The context is important. Laika’s last film, ‘Missing Link’, opened to $5.9 million and was described as a box office bomb. By contrast, ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ debuted with $12.6 million and ‘ParaNorman’ with $14 million, while ‘Coraline’ opened to $16.8 million in its original run.
The film itself has been a labor of love. Directed by Laika CEO Travis Knight, it took 16 years to finish and is the longest stop-motion film ever at 131 minutes. Reviews have been spectacular, with a perfect 100% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an 85 on Metacritic, and Laika’s first release in years carries the weight of awards buzz.
Internationally, the film earned $3 million from 11 territories in its first frame. It is expected to roll out to other markets in the coming weeks, so its global total could climb.
The first trailer for LAIKA’s new film ‘WILDWOOD’ has been released. The film follows a girl who enters a magical forbidden forest to rescue her kidnapped baby brother. In theaters on October 23. https://t.co/fwBole0ZHN
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 13, 2026
The wider marketplace was strong. The weekend total reached $94.9 million, up nearly 22% from the same weekend last year. A24’s ‘You Can See Everything’ also grew 25% in its second weekend with $19.5 million, landing close enough to threaten ‘Clayface’ for the top spot.
With Halloween falling on a Saturday, studios have kept next weekend’s releases limited. That gives both newcomers a clearer runway, and ‘Wildwood’ in particular could benefit from a lack of animated competition.
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