‘Clayface’ Surges on Discount Tuesday, and the Weekday Numbers Beat Several Horror Rivals
Weekday box office numbers tell a different story from opening weekends. A big Friday can be fueled by fans and presales, but how a film holds on a Monday and Tuesday shows how much general audiences actually want to see it. For horror movies in particular, where word of mouth can make or break a run, those quieter days matter.
That makes the latest numbers for DC Studios’ ‘Clayface‘ worth a closer look. The R-rated body horror film opened on October 23 with $24 million domestically, winning the weekend with a rare A- CinemaScore and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics gave it 75%, enough for a Certified Fresh badge.
Now Tuesday’s box office has added another data point. ‘Clayface’ took in $3.4 million on Tuesday, up 47.8% from Monday, taking full advantage of discount day. That brings its domestic total to $29.7 million in 5 days.
Beloved by audiences, #DCStudios’s R-rated film #Clayface took full advantage of Discount day at US #BoxOffice! #DCU’s first body horror, starring #TomRhysHarries, EXPLODED grossing 3.4M on TUE, up STRONG +47.8% from MON (vs #KravenTheHunter’s 1.3M, +53.1%, #TheExorcistBeliever 2.3M, -2.5%, #OtherMommy’s 2.9M, +0.5%, #Smile 3M, +35.4%, #BlackPhone2’s 3.1M, +43.6%, #BirdsOfPrey’s 3.4M, +56.5%) The CBM Horror, carrying a 44M production price-tag not including marketing, hits a 29.7M cume in the U.S. alone, in just 5 days. https://t.co/IK1ObzJUzs
— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) October 28, 2026
Tuesday’s gross compares well against recent genre films on their own discount days. According to the breakdown circulating among box office watchers, ‘Kraven the Hunter’ made $1.3 million on its Tuesday, up 53.1%. ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ made $2.3 million, down 2.5%, and ‘Other Mommy’ made $2.9 million, up 0.5%.
‘Smile’ made $3 million, up 35.4%, and ‘Black Phone 2’ made $3.1 million, up 43.6%. Only ‘Birds of Prey’ topped ‘Clayface’ with $3.4 million, though its Tuesday jump of 56.5% was larger in percentage terms. The comparison suggests that the film’s audience is not simply front-loaded.
The Tuesday spike builds on strong audience reception. The film’s A- CinemaScore is unusual for horror, and James Gunn pointed out that ‘Sinners’ is the only horror film to have ever received an A, with ‘Obsession’, ‘Weapons’ and now ‘Clayface’ reaching an A-. The same grade was earned by Gunn’s ‘Superman’.
Good scores can help a film grow after its opening weekend. They tend to drive repeat viewings and recommendations, especially for a movie with an unusual premise. ‘Clayface’ follows Matt Hagen, a Hollywood actor played by Tom Rhys Harries who turns into a being made of clay after an experimental treatment.
Money is a big part of the story. ‘Clayface’ carries a reported production budget of $44 million, not including marketing, which is a fraction of what most comic book films cost. Its global opening of $43 million nearly matched that figure, and a later count put the worldwide total at $46.5 million.
That puts it on a very different path from ‘Supergirl’, which opened to $68 million globally against a budget reported at more than $170 million. Studio projections for ‘Clayface’ had been $25 million to $30 million for its opening weekend, so the result landed slightly under. Even so, the Associated Press noted that the budget makes the film a mid-budget genre swing inside a superhero universe.
The film also did this without a single IMAX screen, since ‘Street Fighter’ had them booked for 2 weeks. Premium large format screens still delivered close to half the gross. That detail suggests there is room for growth once the format becomes available.
Not all of the picture is rosy. The international opening was about $19 million from 76 markets, and some headlines described it as opening below ‘Supergirl’ overseas. Domestic numbers are carrying more of the weight so far.
Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, the film is the third DCU film and its first body horror entry. It stars Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan alongside Harries. Its success could shape how DC approaches smaller, genre-driven stories.
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 now, the Tuesday bump is encouraging. It does not guarantee the film will hit profitability, but it suggests that audiences who see it are telling others. The coming weekend will show whether that momentum carries through.
What do you think will determine the box office success of Clayface?
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