Warner Bros. is out here claiming victory this weekend, telling anyone who'll listen that "Clayface" is #1 with $10.4M. That's a 56% plunge from last weekend, by the way. Not exactly the kind of hold you brag about.
Not so fast. A24 is reporting $10.6M for "You Can See Everything," which would mark just a 43% drop. Yes, a non-fiction film, in its third weekend, on the verge of dethroning a DCU release. The film will sit at $64M domestic, and it hasn't even opened internationally yet. Its budget? $7M.
To be fair, "Clayface" did win Halloween night with $4.2M, while the A24 doc pulled in $3.58M. However, Sunday looks like it belongs to the latter, with a projected $3.45M against $2.8M for "Clayface." And Deadline reports that "You Can See Everything" already has the edge in the hourlies. It sure looks like Warner Bros. was too quick on the trigger in proclaiming victory.
So where does that leave "Clayface"? It's at $44M domestic and $83M worldwide against a $44M production budget. Is this going to end up as a modest win for James Gunn and DC Studios? Maybe. Once you factor in marketing, it's going to need to keep chugging along to get there. "Modest" is probably the ceiling here.
Meanwhile, Laika's stop-motion fantasy "Wildwood" held at #3 with $7.5M in its second weekend, a respectable 39% drop. The well-reviewed film has earned $25M domestic and $35M globally so far. Sadly, it likely won't even come close to breaking even. Variety pegs the budget at $100M, but the actual figure remains unknown, and there are some wild rumors out there about how much it really cost.
Side note: "Street Fighter" was actually beaten this weekend by a film about a woman who falls for a man made of wicker. Yes, fourth place went to "Wicker" with $4.1M, a decline of just 28% from its debut. The film has earned $13.2M domestically to date, which is strong given that Black Bear acquired it out of Sundance for $2.5M.
"Street Fighter" is DOA, landing at #5 with $3.2M in its third frame, another brutal 63% drop. The movie has grossed $53M in North America and $92M worldwide against an $82M budget.
Finally, I don't think I've shared my thoughts on Noah Segan's "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York," which went slightly wider this weekend, earned $1.8M, and features a stellar John Turturro performance. It's good, not great. My main qualm is how convoluted the film becomes in its final stretch. Still, this is an indie film worth seeking out, if only to marvel at Turturro finally landing a strong lead role and knocking it out of the park.
The theatrical version runs 108 minutes, so we're talking a nearly 2-hour-10-minute cut of a movie that works because it's lean, and I'm not sure anyone needs that.