'Clayface' Opens at No. 1 as A24 Documentary Holds Its Ground
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“Clayface,” the horror film built around the Batman villain, opened at No. 1 at the North American box office with $24 million, and took a further $43 million overseas, The Playlist reported.
The result put DC Studios back on track after an uneven restart: the film “Supergirl” fell short early in the summer, while the series “Lanterns” performed strongly on HBO and HBO Max. “Clayface,” an origin picture for the shapeshifting villain, is the studio’s first theatrical No. 1 of the season.
Second place went to “You Can See Everything,” Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary on the Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, which earned $19.5 million in its second weekend — a 25 percent increase on its $15.6 million opening, IndieWire reported. Made for $7 million, it has grossed $45.1 million domestically and is on course to become one of the most successful non-fiction films in history. The all-time record is held by Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” with just over $222 million. The A24 release has already passed “Melania,” which took $16.3 million this year after Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for the rights.
The documentary’s reception was not assured when it was made. Mr. Oppenheim said in an IndieWire interview that Fielder negotiated an escape clause — a “kill switch” — with distributor A24 before filming, in case nothing proved worth telling about Ms Holmes. The directors proceeded with unusual freedom, Oppenheim said, and the film’s second-weekend gain is rare for any release, let alone non-fiction.
Awards speculation has followed the film since its release. Whether it contends in the documentary branch or breaks into the best-picture conversation remains unsettled, but the grosses make it a financial landmark for A24, extending a theatrical streak that has made the studio one of the year’s most reliable.
For DC, the opening steadied a reboot that “Supergirl” had unsettled. For A24, the hold confirmed word-of-mouth demand that its marketing budget could not have bought.