Clayface Officially Surpasses James Gunn's Superman With New DC Rotten Tomatoes Score Record

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Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen in Clayface

Published Oct 23, 2026, 8:17 AM EDT

Andy Behbakht has worked as an entertainment journalist since 2010, covering all the latest in Hollywood on both the big and small screens, from staying on top of the biggest breaking news, analyzing movies and television shows in Hollywood, to in-depth interviews with actors and storytellers.

Andy's career includes having worked for publications such as FanSided, KSiteTV, TV Fanatic, It's Just Movies, Heroic Hollywood, TV Overmind, and more. Outside of his career as an established reporter, Andy is the host and producer of The Showrunner Whisperer, The Flash Podcast, the editor-in-chief of Multiverse of Color, and the network director of DC TV Podcasts.

The DC Universe has officially entered a new era.

The DCU's Chapter 1: "Gods and Monsters" slate has expanded James Gunn's comic book franchise throughout 2026, with Milly Alcock reprising her role as Kara Zor-El in Supergirl, following her debut in 2025's Superman. HBO became the home for the Emerald Knights, as Hal Jordan and John Stewart made their arrival through Lanterns. As the year is nearing its end, DC Studios has finally released its last project for the year.

James Watkins' Clayface, starring Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a.k.a. the famous Batman foe, is officially playing in theaters. As the world is making its voices heard about the DCU installment, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes has debuted at 94%. Based on a script from Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, the DC entry is now the highest-rated movie for Gunn's superhero franchise amongst filmgoers, surpassing Superman's Popcornmeter score of 90% while Supergirl is holding a 72% rating.

It's key to remember that the % is still subject to change, as the film just opened in theaters with more audience members yet to register their thoughts on the villain-focused release. This means the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is bound to change over the coming days and weeks as more users share their ratings. As of writing, Clayface is certified fresh on the review-aggregation platform, with a strong 76% based on 116 submitted reviews.

ChronoLogic

Rearrange the movies into the correct US release order.

In ScreenRant's Clayface movie review, Graeme Guttmann, who rated it 7/10, praised the feature for its "part-revenge saga, part-murder mystery from the perspective of the killer, Clayface is full of surprises, and at the center of it all is Harries' charismatic performance." Guttmann commented on the leading star "who has appeared in numerous films and shows over the years, gets a true breakout moment here. The horror of his predicament is painted across his handsome face, even as it melts and morphs into grotesque configurations. It's a role that relies specifically on you believing that Matt could be an in-demand actor, and Harries meets the moment in a few early scenes that quickly get you on his side before it all blows up."

What remains to be seen now is how the DCU's Clayface performs at the box office, especially with how horror films have been succeeding as of late. Watkins' project was reportedly produced on a $30-40 million budget, significantly less than what Supergirl was supposedly made for, as Craig Gillespie's space adventure had a reported $170M-$186M budget, meaning the R-rated comic book installment has different commercial expectations to reach.

While Chapter 1: "Gods and Monsters" has released all of its 2026 projects, the next upcoming DCU movie for the franchise will be Gunn's Man of Tomorrow on July 9, 2027, serving as a continuation of Superman. DC Studios is also working on HBO Max's The People V. Gorilla Grodd, which will focus on the famous Flash villain, featuring Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen hosting a true-crime documentary series as he looks into the telepathic ape's case to see if he was perhaps framed.

Clayface is now playing in theaters.