DC Studios’ riskiest experiment yet is off to an encouraging start. Clayface, the R-rated body-horror take on the Batman villain, earned an estimated $3.5 million from Thursday previews ahead of its official opening today, according to Deadline — a solid launch for a film many had written off before it ever reached a screen.

Tom Rhys Harries stars as Matt Hagen, a rising Hollywood actor whose life is upended when his face is disfigured. Directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, the 108-minute film is James Gunn and Peter Safran’s first move into lower-budget genre filmmaking at DC — a sharp departure from the studio’s usual superhero spectacle.

The preview figure compares favorably within its class: it beat the $2 million preview haul of the R-rated Kraven the Hunter, landed close to the $4 million previews of Birds of Prey, and nearly tripled the $1.2 million previews of this month’s Digger. Reviews are helping rather than hurting — the film arrives with a 76% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, ahead of several recent DC releases.

Booked into some 3,400 locations including Dolby Cinema and premium large-format screens, Clayface is forecast to open between $20 million and $25 million domestically, with $45 million or more possible worldwide. Made for a net production cost of about $44 million before marketing, it does not need blockbuster numbers to win — and in a year when horror has already generated more than $1.1 billion domestically, DC’s gamble is landing in friendly territory.