A movie set in the world of Batman and a three-hour documentary about Elizabeth Holmes went head-to-head at the box office this weekend, and it turned out to be a closer contest than expected.
"Clayface," a body-horror movie from DC Studios centered on the titular Batman villain, won the weekend box office with a $24 million opening in North American movie theaters, according to studio estimates released by Rentrak.
That would typically be a disaster for a superhero movie. After all, DC Studios' prior film, "Supergirl," opened to $37 million in June and was considered a box office failure. The difference is that while comic book movies traditionally cost $100 million or more to make, "Clayface" had a budget of only $44 million, according to The Hollywood
Reporter.
That makes the $24 million domestic opening a solid enough start. "Clayface" is an example of DC Studios' trying something different with its characters – a dark, horror-themed film aimed at adults with an R rating, in contrast to the brightly colored, family-friendly "Superman" – in a way that doesn't require too much financial risk. Thanks to the cheaper cost, "Clayface" is positioned to become more of a success story for DC, which was in need of a win after the failure of "Supergirl" raised questions about the health of the franchise.
But the bigger surprise of the weekend was "You Can See Everything." The buzzy documentary about Elizabeth Holmes from comedian Nathan Fielder and director Lance Oppenheim expanded into more locations in its second weekend and grossed $19.5 million, an increase from its first weekend and an astonishing sum for a documentary.
"You Can See Everything," which follows the Theranos founder in the days before she goes to prison in 2023, was initially playing on fewer than 1,000 screens in the United States during its opening weekend, but it still managed to debut with $15.6 million domestically. Not counting concert or music films, that was the biggest opening weekend for a documentary since Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" in 2004.
Final numbers are expected Oct. 26.
As word of mouth continues to build, "You Can See Everything" looks like the film to beat for best documentary at the 2027 Oscars, and it could stand a chance of being the first documentary to be nominated for best picture.
DC, meanwhile, will be back in theaters in July 2027 with "Man of Tomorrow," a sequel to "Superman" starring David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan. Matt Reeves' "The Batman: Part II," which exists in a separate continuity from the main DC universe, is also scheduled for release in 2028. Production on the movie was recently paused as Reeves deals with a family matter. Steven Soderbergh will step in to help complete filming.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elizabeth Holmes film puts up a fight against 'Clayface' at box office
