Entertainment

DC’s First Horror Movie Officially Breaks Franchise's Box Office Slump

Nairavoice · Oct 25, 2026 · 5 min read

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Armed with positive word-of-mouth, DC’s Clayface exceeded expectations in its box-office debut. Fans have often wondered what a (relatively) low-budget superhero movie would look like, and while Joker emerged as an anomaly, the industry has largely been reluctant to experiment with high-value properties. DC’s own Supergirl movie tanked this summer with a $125 million worldwide haul against a reported budget of more than $185 million. The franchise began in 2025 with a Superman reboot directed by James Gunn — the movie made a solid $620 million globally against a reported budget of $225 million. A sequel, titled Man of Tomorrow, is slated for release in summer 2027. Clayface is a bold step toward creating standalone genre movies based on DC characters, with a Swamp Thing movie in the works from director James Mangold.

Clayface follows an actor from Gotham City who transforms into a vengeful anti-hero after he is assaulted by a gangster and undergoes an experimental medical procedure. Starring newcomer Tom Rhys Harries alongside Naomi Ackie, the movie earned a stellar A- grade on CinemaScore, matching the grade received by last year’s Superman. This is not only an excellent result for a superhero title, but it’s also something of an anomaly for a horror film. Clayface is now sitting at a “Certified Fresh” 75% critics’ score and a “Verified Hot” 94% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Carving out a unique identity for itself in the DCU while closely resembling a litany of body horror classics, Clayface takes time to get going until it eventually morphs into an icky and satisfying revenge thriller.”

Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath
your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what
it would leave behind.

Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you
to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever
won that particular argument.

Freddy is horror’s cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot
guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your
own head is where this does its damage.
These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose
because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.

Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the
person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.

Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you
describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You
know that feeling from real life too.
The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you
have met those adults.
By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.

Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost
certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.

Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be
somebody who was at the party.
You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the
same way you watch films.
The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are
the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.

Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people
asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.

The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary
room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than
personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are
the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one
standing in the hallway.

Here’s How Much ‘Clayface’ Grossed in Its Box-Office Debut

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Image via Warner Bros.

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Warner Bros.
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Image via Warner Bros.

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Directed by James Watkins, who previously helmed the Speak No Evil remake and Eden Lake, the movie witnessed a surge in walk-ins on opening day, resulting in a $10 million haul. It grossed $24 million in its domestic debut, against a reported budget of between $35 million and $40 million. The film’s global haul stands at approximately $43 million. Clayface is now projected to generate more than $120 million worldwide, with a shot at outgrossing Supergirl. The movie successfully fended off unexpected competition from the three-hour A24 documentary You Can See Everything, which grossed around $20 million this weekend after expanding nationwide. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.