After a rough early summer with the box office disappointment of “Supergirl,” DC Studios is back on track. “Lanterns” was a substantial hit on HBO and HBO Max, and now “Clayface” has opened to No. 1 at the box office. The Batman villain origin horror movie took in $24 million in the U.S. and $43 million worldwide in a nice win for DC Studios toppers Peter Safran and James Gunn.
READ MORE: “Clayface” Review: A Grotesque Tale Of Impostor Syndrome Faces Its Own Misshapen Identity Crisis
Directed by James Watkins, from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, “Clayface” earned mixed reviews with a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 59 on Metacritic. Audiences dug the Warner Bros. release more, giving it an A- on CinemaScore, a great grade for a horror movie. Reports put “Clayface’s” production budget at up to $44 million, and it’s now on track to break even in theaters.
Some thought Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheimer’s “You Can See Everything” might take the top spot this weekend after a nationwide expansion, but A24 isn’t complaining. The buzzed-about and critically acclaimed documentary earned $19.5 million in 2,655 theaters. For a three-hour documentary, that’s impressive. More noteworthy, the Telluride Film Festival sneak has now earned $45.1 million in just 10 days of release. At a reported $7 million budget, it’s set to be a massive financial win for the mini-major. International rollout begins next month.
Another critic’s favorite entered the marketplace, with Travis Knight’s and LAIKA’s “Wildwood” earning $11.3 million in 2,752 theaters. That’s a comparable debut to the independent animation studio’s “Kubo and the Strings,” which took in $12 million in 500 more theaters in 2016. The adaptation of Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis‘ 2011 novel is also a critics’ favorite with a stellar 87 grade on Metacritic and an incredible 100% on Rotten Tomatoes after 109 reviews. It also earned an A grade on CinemaScore from audiences, which suggests good word of mouth. LAIKA is essentially self-releasing “Wildwood” through a partnership with FATHOM events, so it will be intriguing to see how long they can hold on to a substantial number of theaters in the weeks ahead. Overseas pulled in $3 million for a global total of $14.3 million so far.
Has Black Bear landed their first legit hit as a distributor? The fantasy dramedy “Wicker” opened to $5.75 million on just 1,471 screens. Starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgard, and Peter Dinklage, among others, the Topic Studios-financed flick has earned very good reviews (70 on Metacritic, 94% on Rotten Tomatoes) and reportedly cost Black Bear just $2.5 million to acquire out of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. It’s unclear if that price tag included the U.K., but the film should do excellent business when it opens there on Thursday.
Shockingly, Sony Pictures dropped “Klara and the Sun” in just 880 theaters for a woeful $725,000 domestic. The Taika Waititi adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro‘s bestselling novel couldn’t tap into the book’s fanbase despite Jenny Ortega and Amy Adams in leading roles. Terrible reviews (30 on Metacritic, 25% on Rotten Tomatoes) didn’t help. The “it could be worse” scenario for Sony Pictures and co-financier Spyglass Entertainment is that it reportedly cost just $20 million.
Dropping in 876 theaters was Bleeker Street’s “A Talent for Murder.” The Anton Corbijn-directed thriller took in just $717,864 for a not-so-great $819 per screen. Starring Helen Mirren and Alden Ehrenreich, this TIFF world premiere has mostly positive reviews (67 on Metacritic, 78% on Rotten Tomatoes), but opening in this crowded frame was not ideal.
Last week’s winner, Paramount and Legendary’s “Streefighter,” fell a massive 72% in its second frame for $8 million and $46.9 million domestic and $76.9 million worldwide. That’s a steeper fall than the 65.2% drop “Mortal Kombat II” saw in May, and that video game adaptation only made it to $79.7 million domestic. 20th Century Studios’ “Whalefall” also had a rough second weekend, falling 59% for another $3.2 million and $14 domestic and $31 million worldwide.
In limited release, Sony Pictures Classics saw “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” snatch $141,000 in six theaters for a very good $23,600 per screen. Mubi dropped Cannes prize winner “Fatherland” in four theaters for $83,790 or a good $20,948 per screen.
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