‘Clayface’ leads box office with $24 million as ticket sales surge 22%

Warner Bros.’ (SKYD) “Clayface” topped the domestic box office with an estimated $24 million in ticket sales over the weekend, helping North American theaters generate nearly $95 million in revenue as moviegoing continued to rebound from last year.

The domestic box office totaled $94.9 million for the October 23-25 weekend, up 21.8% from the comparable period a year earlier, according to estimates from Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak. Ticket sales fell 11.2% from the previous weekend.

Warner Bros.’ (SKYD) DC Comics horror film “Clayface,” directed by James Watkins and starring David Dencik and Naomi Ackie, opened in 3,458 theaters. It also generated about $19 million internationally, bringing its worldwide debut to approximately $43 million.

A24's documentary “You Can See Everything” finished second with $19.5 million, an unusual 25% increase from its opening weekend. The film, featuring Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and filmmaker Nathan Fielder, expanded by 1,800 theaters to 2,655 locations. Its domestic cumulative gross reached $45.1 million.

For investors, the weekend's results underscore the recovery in theatrical exhibition and the potential benefits of a diverse release slate for theater operators such as AMC Entertainment (AMC), Cinemark Holdings (CNK) and IMAX (IMAX). Domestic ticket sales have reached $8.36 billion this year through October 25, up 20.2% from $6.95 billion during the comparable period in 2025. The increase suggests that moviegoers remain willing to visit theaters when studios offer a compelling mix of films, although profitability for distributors ultimately depends on production budgets, marketing expenses and revenue-sharing arrangements.

Animated adventure and horror attract audiences

LAIKA's stop-motion animated adventure “Wildwood,” distributed by Fathom Entertainment, debuted in third place with $11.8 million from 2,779 theaters. The PG-13 film, directed by Travis Knight and featuring the voices of Carey Mulligan and Jacob Tremblay, follows a young girl who ventures into a mysterious forest to rescue her brother.

Paramount's (SKYD) “Street Fighter” placed fourth with $8.6 million, a steep 72.1% decline from its opening weekend. The video-game adaptation has generated $46.9 million domestically and $79.6 million worldwide after two weekends, raising questions about its staying power following a strong initial turnout.

Black Bear's romantic fantasy “Wicker,” starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård and Elizabeth Debicki, rounded out the top five with a $5.75 million debut from 1,471 theaters.

The weekend's leading films spanned superhero horror, documentary filmmaking, animation, action and romantic fantasy. That variety suggests theatrical demand isn't limited to traditional franchise blockbusters, potentially giving studios more opportunities to reach audiences with smaller and unconventional productions.

Among other releases, Universal's (CMCSA) “Other Mommy” earned $3.85 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $51.5 million. Focus Features' (CMCSA) “Sense and Sensibility” collected $3.4 million in its second weekend, while 20th Century Studios' (DIS) “Whalefall” added $3.2 million.

Amazon MGM Studios' (AMZN) “Verity,” starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, took in $3.06 million in its fourth weekend. Its worldwide box office has reached approximately $162.7 million, including $71.5 million domestically.

Sony's (SONY) “Resident Evil” remained among the top 10 in its sixth weekend, earning $3 million and lifting its domestic total to $153.7 million.

IMAX generates $8 million globally

Premium-format screenings provided another source of revenue for exhibitors. IMAX (IMAX) theaters generated approximately $8 million worldwide over the weekend, supported by a combination of Hollywood releases, international films and special events.

“Street Fighter” contributed $2.5 million in global IMAX ticket sales, including $1.8 million in North America. IMAX accounted for approximately 21% of the film's domestic weekend gross, illustrating the importance of premium ticket pricing to theatrical revenue.

Christopher Nolan's “The Odyssey” added $1.5 million in its 15th weekend, lifting its cumulative worldwide IMAX revenue to $553 million. That represented 31% of the film's global theatrical gross.

“Resident Evil” generated another $1 million through IMAX screenings, including $800,000 in China, bringing its worldwide IMAX total to $37.6 million.

The premium-screen operator also benefited from Japanese releases of Studio Ghibli's “Whisper of the Heart” and “The Secret World of Arrietty,” which generated $650,000 and $440,000, respectively.

Looking ahead, IMAX (IMAX) plans an exclusive North American engagement of “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood” at 183 locations next weekend, ahead of the November 25 release of “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth.”

Top 10 domestic box office films, October 23-25, 2026

Estimated weekend ticket sales, according to Rentrak. Figures are rounded.

Rank	Film	Weekend gross	Change
1	Clayface	$24.00M	New
2	You Can See Everything	$19.50M	+25%
3	Wildwood	$11.78M	New
4	Street Fighter	$8.60M	-72%
5	Wicker	$5.75M	New
6	Other Mommy	$3.85M	-53%
7	Sense and Sensibility	$3.40M	-53%
8	Whalefall	$3.20M	-59%
9	Verity	$3.06M	-49%
10	Resident Evil	$3.00M	-45%
	Top 10 total	$86.14M