Here's a sentence I didn't expect to write about a DC movie this year: the reviews for Clayface are fun to read.
I don't mean fun because they're all raves, or because they're all pans. I mean fun because they disagree in specific, useful ways. As of Thursday, Oct. 22, Rotten Tomatoes shows the movie at 75% from 107 critics, and the reviews under that number sound like they came from two different screenings.
One thing up front. I haven't seen Clayface. It opens in U.S. theaters Friday, Oct. 23, so what you're getting here is my read of the critics, the numbers and the money, not a review. Anywhere I'm giving an opinion I'll say so, and every figure comes from the sources listed at the bottom.
My quick read
Roughly three in four reviews are favorable, and the favorable ones are enthusiastic about the same two things.
Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie get the warmest notices, and the body horror is described as unusually nasty for a DC movie.
The writing is called slick by some and wooden by others, and a few critics say the city itself has no personality.
Treat everything below as a read of the reviews. I'd rather say that than pretend I know how the movie plays.
What 75% actually means
The Tomatometer isn't an average grade. It's the share of reviews that came down on the positive side. With 107 reviews counted, 75% works out to roughly 80 positive reviews and about 27 negative ones. A critic who calls a movie a solid 3 out of 5 and a critic who calls it a masterpiece each add one “fresh” review, which is how a movie can post a good percentage and still feel merely okay.
107 reviews, Thursday, Oct. 22
Rotten Tomatoes lists the movie among its Certified Fresh picks, and 75% is the minimum score for that seal under the site's published rules (it also has review-count requirements). So Clayface is sitting right on the line.
Two details are worth holding onto. First, a score parked exactly on a threshold is the kind that can move with a few late reviews, so I'd read 75% as “solid, not locked.” Second, the audience score isn't established yet. The page said fewer than 50 verified ratings when I looked, so there's nothing to read into the popcorn side of the ledger.
What the critics agree on
I read the Rotten Tomatoes roundup of first reviews, then followed it into individual write-ups from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, RogerEbert.com and others. Two things came up again and again.
1. The performances
- Critics at IndieWire, ComicBook.com and Daily Dead single out Tom Rhys Harries for making Matt Hagen's slide from rising actor to monster feel human under heavy makeup and effects.
- Even ComicBookMovie.com, whose review is one of the harsher ones I read (it calls the movie “Morbius, but slightly better”), says Harries is the best thing in it.
- Naomi Ackie gets nearly as much love. Reviewers at Flickering Myth, The Cinematic Reel and Muses of Media pick her out, and one says her dry humor lets the movie breathe between the grim stretches.
2. It's gory and it stands alone
- Variety, Fresh Fiction and Black Girl Nerds all describe prosthetics and gore that go further than most comic book movies dare.
- Several critics say it needs no homework. Variety calls it “its own ugly animal,” and one reviewer notes other DC characters are referenced without ever being named.
Six reviews, six grades
Here are six of the reviews Rotten Tomatoes was displaying when I checked. I didn't pick them to match the 75%. They're simply the six on the page, and the grades run from a B to a D, which tells you how wide the spread is. The summaries are mine, based on the excerpts shown.
Calls it a full-on body horror movie with squirm-inducing moments, at least in the first half, and says DC isn't toe-dipping into the genre.
Admits a few creative limits, but calls it an enjoyably gruesome ride and a sturdy origin story.
Finds the revenge arc inevitable and a bit generic, but says the picture of a world stripped of empathy leaves the deepest mark.
Argues that being set in a comic-book universe doesn't excuse a horror movie from having to succeed on its own terms.
Says the film lacks tone, personality and a distinct directorial stamp, with middling effects and a city that could be anywhere.
The lowest grade in the set. He objects strongly to the closing coda, which he reads as an astonishingly misguided turn on morality.
Grades and outlets as displayed on Rotten Tomatoes on Thursday, Oct. 22. The score and the featured reviews on that page can change.
Where they fight
This is the part I found most interesting, because the arguments aren't vague. Critics are pointing at the same things and reaching opposite conclusions.
The script
For: Variety says the writing is slicker and slyer than most movies in this lane, and Heaven of Horror calls it one of the better origin stories. The script is credited to Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini.
Against: ComicBookMovie.com calls the dialogue wooden and the story a string of familiar notes, and CBR says it has strong points but feels uneven.
Gotham
For: Fresh Fiction likes the rain-slicked alleys and a circular staircase that nod to Hitchcock and old noirs.
Against: The Australian says it could be any city, RogerEbert.com says it never looks like it's anywhere but a backlot, and Muses of Media misses the personality Gotham usually has.
The ending and the creature payoff
For: Awards Watch calls the nightclub set piece a blast and says it saves its most inventive violence for the very end of that scene.
Against: Flickering Myth says the ending is a twist the movie hasn't earned, and ComicBookMovie.com says the few seconds of full classic Clayface aren't worth waiting for. I'm not spoiling anything here, mostly because I couldn't.
My critic thermometer
This is my own reading of the roundups, not a poll and not a score for the movie. For each question I asked how warm the critics sound, from five green pips for glowing down to one red pip for cold.
- Is Harries good?
The closest thing to a consensus in the whole pile. Even the grumpy reviews praise him.
- Is Ackie good?
Warm and frequent, though she gets fewer headline mentions than Harries.
- Does the body horror deliver?
Mostly yes on gore and prosthetics. A couple of critics say it's more unnerving than scary, and one calls the effects mediocre.
- Does it work on its own?
Most say yes. One critic says that containment also makes it feel disposable.
- Is the script good?
Genuinely split. I count about as many strong endorsements as sharp complaints.
- Does Gotham feel like Gotham?
The coldest category. Several critics say the setting has no identity.
Where 75% lands among DC movies
Numbers only mean something next to other numbers. I pulled the Tomatometer scores for the other two DC Universe movies and a few other well-known DC and Batman-world films from Rotten Tomatoes' own DC ranking, then slotted Clayface in. The ranking is mine. The scores are theirs.
- The Batman (2022)85%
- Superman (2025)83%
- Clayface (2026), so far75%
- Joker (2019)68%
- Supergirl (2026)52%
- Black Adam (2022)39%
- Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)31%
Clayface's score is provisional and based on 107 reviews on Oct. 22. The other scores come from Rotten Tomatoes' DC movie ranking guide, last updated in June 2026 according to the page.
My honest reaction: this is exactly where I'd expect a smaller, weirder movie to land. It's well behind the two big, expensive crowd-pleasers at the top, comfortably ahead of the DC movies that got burned by critics, and right beside Joker, DC's earlier R-rated villain showcase. It's also a gap above Supergirl, whose Rotten Tomatoes consensus line called it a familiar origin story for a promising hero still waiting on an adventure to match.
The box office question
Good reviews don't guarantee anyone buys a ticket, and this movie's numbers are more scattered than its critics. Here are the opening-weekend projections I could find, all for the three-day U.S. and Canada opening, next to what Supergirl actually did.
- Boxoffice Pro long-range forecast (Oct. 16)$23M to $33M
- Fresh tracking reported Oct. 19$25M to $33M
- Box Office Theory, early number$20M to $26M
- Pre-sales analysis (ComicBookMovie.com)Under $20M
- Supergirl's actual opening, for scale$38M
Bars run from $0 to $45 million. Projections are estimates from outside analysts, not results.
A few more facts that matter. The reported production budget is $40 million, and one outlet estimates around $30 million more in marketing, which puts the break-even somewhere around $80 million to $100 million in total box office, depending on who's doing the math. Early tracking showed only about a third of people had heard of the movie, but among those who had, interest in opening weekend was unusually high. For context on the franchise, Superman opened to $125 million domestic last year, and Clayface is the last DC movie before Man of Tomorrow next July.
It also isn't alone. Klara and the Sun, Wildwood and Wicker all open the same weekend, and Street Fighter is in its second weekend, which one outlet calls the biggest threat to the top spot.
My take
Here's where I land, and remember I'm reacting to reviews, not a screening.
I'd rather watch a movie that splits critics than one that bores them. Look at how Rotten Tomatoes summed up Supergirl: a familiar origin story for a promising hero. To me that reads like a polite way of saying nothing went wrong and nothing stuck. Clayface, going by the reviews, has the opposite problem. Things went wrong in places, and things stuck. I'll take that trade almost every time, and I think it's the healthier sign for where this studio is headed.
What I'm genuinely optimistic about is how small it is. A reported $40 million budget, one man at the center, a director who made the nasty little thriller Eden Lake, and a script from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. That's DC saying it can make a movie without a world-ending finale, and with Man of Tomorrow coming next July, I think the slate is better for having one.
My worry is the title character himself. At least one critic says the full, classic-looking Clayface only shows up for 10 or 15 seconds, and calls it underwhelming. If that's accurate, it's the thing I'd expect casual audiences to grumble about, even if horror fans don't mind. I won't know until I sit down with it, and I'd rather admit that than act like I do.
On the money: I don't think a mid-$20 million opening is a failure on a $40 million budget, and I don't think a 75% makes it a hit. If you want one number that tells the real story, I'd watch the drop from the first weekend to the second. Horror fans who show up Friday and tell their friends can carry a movie like this much further than the opening suggests.
Should you see it?
These are my calls, based on what critics describe. They aren't guarantees.
If you love body horror
Critics compare it to The Fly, Darkman and The Substance. If those are on your shelf, this was clearly made with you in mind.
If you want Superman energy
Reviewers describe something small, bleak and self-contained. Go in expecting a monster movie, not a sunny team-up.
If you're squeamish
It's rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use, and critics warn about scenes that make audiences cover their faces.
For kids and younger teens
In the U.S., anyone under 17 needs a parent or adult guardian with them for an R-rated movie, and this one earns the rating.
The week in dates
- OCT 13TueWorld premiere at the Hollywood Legion Theater in Los Angeles, with director James Watkins, Naomi Ackie and Tom Rhys Harries on hand.
- OCT 14WedThe social media embargo lifts and the first reactions arrive. Collider's Steve Weintraub calls it “hard R,” and the early mood is positive.
- OCT 21WedCritics' reviews go online and Rotten Tomatoes publishes its first-reviews roundup. International markets start the same day.
- OCT 23FriNorth American opening, two days before the Halloween weekend.
Clayface questions, answered fast
What is the Rotten Tomatoes score for Clayface?
75% on 107 critic reviews when I checked on Thursday, Oct. 22. The audience score isn't established yet, since the page showed fewer than 50 verified ratings. These numbers can change.
Is Clayface good?
Critics are mostly positive but not unanimous. They praise Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie and the gore, and split on the script, the ending and the version of Gotham on screen. I haven't seen it, so that's a read of the reviews, not my verdict on the movie.
Is Clayface rated R, and how gory is it?
Yes. It's rated R for strong bloody violence, gore, language, some nudity and brief drug use. Reviewers describe intense gore and prosthetics, though a couple say it's more unnerving than outright scary.
How long is Clayface?
1 hour and 48 minutes (108 minutes), according to Rotten Tomatoes.
When does Clayface come out?
Friday, Oct. 23, 2026 in North American theaters. International markets open two days earlier, per Comic Basics.
Do I need to see Superman or Supergirl before Clayface?
Critics say no. Collider's Steve Weintraub said it doesn't require any knowledge of DC to enjoy, and one reviewer notes other DC characters are referenced without being named.
Who directed Clayface and who stars in it?
James Watkins (Eden Lake, Speak No Evil) directed it from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, with Naomi Ackie as Dr. Caitlyn Corr, plus David Dencik, Max Minghella and Eddie Marsan. Matt Reeves, James Gunn and Peter Safran are among the producers.
Is Batman in Clayface?
Reviews describe it as a standalone movie, and one critic says other DC characters are referenced without being named. I didn't see any of the reviews I read describe Batman appearing on screen, but I haven't seen the film, so treat that as a reading of the reviews and not a confirmation.
How much did Clayface cost, and how much does it need to make?
It reportedly cost $40 million to make. One outlet estimates another $30 million in marketing, and the break-even figures I found land around $80 million to $100 million in total box office.
