'Clayface' Opens With $3.5 Million in Previews, But A24's Elizabeth Holmes Doc Looms

Warner Bros. and DC Studios' "Clayface" took in $3.5 million in Thursday previews, setting up a weekend box-office fight with A24's Elizabeth Holmes documentary "You Can See Everything."

The R-rated comic book adaptation is projected to make $25 million to $35 million in its opening weekend, though rival estimates put it lower, at $22 million to $28 million. Either way, the math favors the studio. "Clayface" cost just $44 million to produce — far less than fellow DC releases like "Superman" and "Supergirl" — so it should be easy to turn a profit. It's on track to add $20 million to $25 million overseas for a global opening of $45 million to $55 million.

James Watkins directs. The film follows the shape-shifting Batman foe, a character who starts out as a Hollywood actor and undergoes a dangerous medical procedure that goes horribly wrong. One of Batman's creepiest villains is now descending on the box office in his own standalone feature.

Can the Holmes documentary actually win the weekend?

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's "You Can See Everything" is the buzzy challenger. It's expanding from 855 theaters to 2,600 in its second weekend and could nab $20 million to $25 million — overlapping directly with the low end of "Clayface's" projections.

The documentary has already shattered expectations. Its limited opening brought in $15.6 million, the largest launch for a nonmusical documentary in 20 years. The directors filmed Theranos CEO Holmes ahead of her 11-year prison sentence, and the film has been building hype and Oscar buzz in recent weeks.

What else is opening?

As the two front-runners battle for first place, several other new releases will compete for what's left:

• "Wicker" — Black Bear's rom-com starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård made $620,000 in Thursday previews and is expected to reach $6 million to $8 million by Sunday.
• "Wildwood" — Laika's stop-motion animated film is aiming for a debut in the same $6 million to $8 million range.
• "Klara and the Sun" — Sony's film from director Taika Waititi, starring Jenna Ortega, is expected to make just $2 million.
• "Ali G: Who Iz I?" — Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy is playing in only 125 theaters before moving to Prime Video streaming at a later date.

What does this weekend change?

For DC, "Clayface" is a test of the mid-budget model: a cheap, R-rated genre film rather than a nine-figure tentpole. For A24, the weekend measures whether "You Can See Everything" can convert festival-fueled buzz into a nationwide hit — and strengthen its early Oscar position in the process.