Clayface on pace for $24M; Fielder doc climbs 28%

Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ Clayface is headed for first place at the North American box office with a projected $24 million US opening, while A24’s Nathan Fielder documentary You Can See Everything is on pace for about $20 million, up 28 per cent from its debut, according to weekend projections reported Oct. 24.

The two films are separated by roughly $4 million, and the Vancouver-born Fielder’s film is expanding from 855 theatres to 2,655. The documentary opened to $15.6 million last weekend.

Clayface took $10.4 million on Friday, Oct. 23, from 3,458 theatres, according to Hollywood Outbreak, which cited Variety for the $24 million weekend projection. That is above the $9.5 million estimate we reported before the final Friday count. TheWrap reported the same $24 million projection and a reported production budget of $40 million. Dark Horizons, citing Deadline, put the budget at $44 million.

Audiences have been warmer than critics. TheWrap reported a 93 per cent audience score and a 76 per cent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a CinemaScore of A-. Dark Horizons, citing Deadline, reported PostTrak exit polls of 4.5 out of five stars.

You Can See Everything, a documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes co-directed by Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, took $6.14 million on Friday from 2,655 theatres, Hollywood Outbreak reported. Its domestic total through Friday was $31.7 million. TheWrap projected about $20 million for the weekend and a domestic total of about $45 million. It said the film is expected to pass the gross of Oppenheim’s other release, Primetime, on Monday.

Laika’s animated Wildwood is projected to open third with $11 million to $12 million, according to TheWrap, which reported a budget well above $100 million. Hollywood Outbreak said the film took $4.28 million on Friday. Directed by Travis Knight, it features the voices of Carey Mulligan and Vancouver-born Jacob Tremblay. TheWrap reported a 100 per cent critics’ score and a 98 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a CinemaScore of A.

Paramount and Legendary’s Street Fighter slips to fourth with a projected $8.4 million in its second weekend, down 73 per cent from its $31 million debut, TheWrap reported. Its domestic total stands at about $46.7 million against a reported $82 million production budget. We reported its opening a week ago. Black Bear’s Wicker is projected at about $6 million from 1,471 theatres.

TheWrap said Clayface is expected to earn less overseas, as last year’s Superman did, but no international figures were available. All figures are U.S. dollars for the North American market, and the sources reviewed gave no Canadian-only totals.

These are projections issued before studios released their Sunday estimates, and they may change. Final figures are due Monday, Oct. 26.

Via Hollywood Outbreak, TheWrap and Dark Horizons.

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