Clayface Rotten Tomatoes Score: How Does It Compare To Superman And Supergirl?

James Gunn's crowd-pleaser "Superman" was a promising way to kickstart the burgeoning DC Universe, and the recently concluded HBO series "Lanterns" has proved similarly successful. "Supergirl," on the other hand, was a bit of a hiccup, to say the least. Now, we have "Clayface," a body horror origin story for a lesser-known Batman villain. Surprisingly, given the subject matter and a distinct lack of hype leading up to the film's release, "Clayface" has debuted to decent reviews and has been significantly more well received than "Supergirl."

The film isn't going to be the kind of critical triumph that establishes James Gunn and his DC Studios co-head Peter Safran as purveyors of premium comic-book based entertainment that can hold its own against the most celebrated dramas Hollywood has to offer. But it has managed to nudge the Tomatometer to a respectable 73% based on a healthy collection of 75 reviews. The "Clayface" critic score is just two percentage points shy of a "certified fresh" rating as of this writing, but that could still change. What's more, it's enough to prevent DC's horror flick from earning the dreaded green splat, which is more than can be said for "Supergirl."

Though it's arguably one of 2026's most underrated movies, the Milly Alcock-led comic book outing only managed a comparatively miserable 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also made just $126.5 million on a budget of between $170 to $186 million. All in all, then, it was the DC Universe's first significant failure, and thus far, "Clayface" has at least managed to garner more impressive reviews. It hasn't, however, managed to outdo Superman himself.

Though the animated series "Creature Commandos" preceded it, "Superman" was the first major DC Universe release — and it was a hit, earning $618.7 million on a $225 million budget and an 83% "certified fresh" critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. James Gunn's take on the DC hero was a major change from the gloomy days of the DC Extended Universe, which had been infused with Zack Snyder's dreary sensibility ever since 2013's "Man of Steel." By introducing us to David Corenswet's lovably goofy Supes in a bright movie that wasn't afraid to embrace hope and optimism, Gunn reinvigorated the Man of Steel for a new generation. Critics seemed to like it, too.

Given that, "Clayface" was always going to struggle to outdo Gunn's movie. For one thing, it's an R-rated body horror from master of the genre Mike Flanagan and "Speak No Evil" director James Watkins. That immediately limits its appeal among the masses. But the initial reactions to "Clayface" were positive, and now the Rotten Tomatoes score similarly bodes well.

While /Film's Chris Evangelista called "Clayface" a shapeless villain spin-off, many other critics were considerably more impressed with the film. Zaki Hasan of the San Francisco Chronicle zeroed in on what might be the most important of the film for Gunn and Peter Safran, writing, "As proof of concept for a DC Universe that can accommodate stories beyond the usual superhero spectacle, it largely works." From the very beginning, Gunn has made clear that the DC Universe would accommodate myriad tones rather than sticking to a house style à la the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Clayface" is the first major test of that flexibility, and according to Hasan, Gunn and company have passed.

More than simply proving James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe can accommodate differing filmmaking styles, "Clayface" managed to impress several critics on its own terms. The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey praised lead actor Tom Rhys Harries for doing "much of the heavy lifting" and for projecting an air of "wounded intensity" that wasn't even remotely dulled by the many layers of prosthetics involved. Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, wrote about "how much fun it is to soak up a film like this on what feels like its creators' largely unhindered terms," suggesting he didn't get the same sense of "practiced pastiche" that Zaki Hasan identified in his review.

On the other side of things, many critics were not all that taken with "Clayface." USA Today's Brian Truitt criticized what he saw as "a severe lack of character development," while David Fear of Rolling Stone went slightly further in comparing "Clayface" to "eating a handful of Play-Doh," adding, "and twice as flavorless."

Clearly, then, "Clayface" isn't enjoying unanimous praise. But it is generally faring better than "Supergirl," which Adam Graham of the Detroit News called "a super disappointment" and Robbie Collin (who liked "Clayface) called "an endless orangey-grey rehash of scenes from 'Mad Max' and 'Star Wars.'" For now, however, "Superman" remains the DC Universe's most critically and commercially successful movie (though "Clayface" could be the box office hit DC needs after "Supergirl"), and doesn't look to be in any danger of being toppled in that regard.