Four new wide releases hit theaters Friday, Oct. 23: DC’s horror thriller Clayface, Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun, Laika’s stop-motion epic Wildwood, and the nationwide expansion of the Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything. Here is what each one is, who it is for, and how the week is shaping up.
Clayface (Oct. 23, theaters)
DC Studios goes full horror. Clayface stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor who turns into a shape-shifting monster after a scientific procedure strips him of his identity. James Watkins (Eden Lake, Speak No Evil) directs from a story by Mike Flanagan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Hossein Amini. It is rated R and runs 1 hour 48 minutes.
Boxoffice Pro reports early buzz is positive and expects the film to open below DC’s Supergirl ($37.1 million earlier this year) but at a fraction of that film’s budget, with standalone appeal that requires no Batman homework. For DC, it is a deliberate test: can a villain-first, horror-rated spinoff carry a franchise weekend the way the genre has carried October?
Klara and the Sun (Oct. 23, theaters)
Taika Waititi adapts Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel with Jenna Ortega as Klara, an android “Artificial Friend” who tries to ingratiate herself with the family that buys her. The film runs 1 hour 57 minutes and is rated PG-13. The warning flag: reviews are poor, sitting at 25% on Rotten Tomatoes as of Sunday, per Boxoffice Pro, and tracking has it opening in single digits. Ortega’s draw makes it the week’s biggest name-vs-reviews mismatch.
Wildwood (Oct. 23, theaters)
The critical favorite. Laika, the studio behind Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, returns with director Travis Knight’s stop-motion fantasy based on the novel by The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy and illustrator Carson Ellis. The voice cast includes Carey Mulligan, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Richard E. Grant, Awkwafina, Amandla Stenberg, Tom Waits and Charlie Day. It is rated PG-13, runs 2 hours 12 minutes, and currently holds a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 24 reviews. Fathom Entertainment handles the US release.
You Can See Everything expands nationwide (Oct. 23)
After a stunning $15 million opening on just 855 screens, A24’s three-hour Elizabeth Holmes documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim goes wide Friday. It is the biggest non-fiction opening since Fahrenheit 9/11, and expansion will test whether the lines-around-the-block demand holds in the suburbs. Catch up with our where-to-watch guide and our ending explained before you go.
Also opening in limited release: the horror film Wicker and the drama Wild Horse Nine, per theater listings.
Timeline: how October’s box office got here
Oct. 9: Universal’s horror film Other Mommy opens and holds well, kicking off the month’s horror wave.
Oct. 16: Street Fighter, You Can See Everything, Whalefall and Sense and Sensibility all open; Street Fighter takes No. 1 with $31 million while the Holmes doc shocks at No. 2.
Oct. 23: Clayface, Klara and the Sun, Wildwood open wide; You Can See Everything expands nationwide.
Which October 23 movie should you see? (analysis)
The weekend lines up cleanly by taste. Horror fans get the month’s third straight scary-movie event in Clayface, and the R rating plus Flanagan’s involvement gives it genre credibility. Families and animation fans get the best-reviewed wide release of the fall in Wildwood, Laika’s first film since 2019’s Missing Link. Adult drama fans are better served by the Holmes doc than by Klara and the Sun, unless Ortega’s presence outweighs a 25% score for you. The box office question is whether Clayface can clear the bar the market just set: Street Fighter won this weekend at $31 million, and anything near that for a villain movie with no Batman would count as a real DC win.
What this means for readers and fans
Best bet for most people: Wildwood, on reviews alone, with a rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes score for a wide animated release.
Horror crowd: Clayface is built for you, and it is the only R-rated wide option this week.
Planning ahead: expect You Can See Everything showtimes to multiply Friday; prime weekend slots sold out fast in its platform run.
What to watch for: whether Street Fighter holds well enough in weekend two to stay ahead of Clayface, and whether Wildwood’s reviews convert to real family turnout.
Kasim Pathan covers movies for News Trends. Our reporting follows the site’s editorial standards.
