(Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Sony Pictures)
Last weekend’s North American box office numbers are in, and "Clayface," the third movie in the new DC Universe, claimed the top spot as expected with approximately $24 million. The film added another $19 million overseas, bringing its worldwide opening to $43 million. With a production budget reportedly between $30 million and $44 million, "Clayface" was always marketed as a lower-budget horror movie rather than a traditional superhero comic-book blockbuster, making its debut a commercially solid result.
(Image courtesy of A24)
A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary "You Can See Everything" finished in second place. The film opened to an impressive $15 million from just 855 theaters two weeks ago before expanding to 2,655 locations last weekend, where it earned an even bigger $19.5 million. For a nearly three-hour documentary promoted for less than two months, the performance has far exceeded expectations.
(Image courtesy of Sony Pictures)
The literary sci-fi adaptation "Klara and the Sun" was not nearly as fortunate. Despite being directed by "Jojo Rabbit" filmmaker Taika Waititi and starring "Wednesday" breakout Jenna Ortega, the movie stumbled after disastrous reactions from advance press screenings. Sony Pictures responded by cutting its planned release from several thousand theaters to just 880 locations. When the film officially opened across North America last weekend, it managed a dismal $720,000, failing even to cross the $1 million mark. Although the movie carried a relatively modest $20 million production budget, the opening remains a major embarrassment.