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Blu Dot surpasses 2,000% ROAS with self-serve CTV ads

Home furniture brand Blu Dot blew up on CTV with help from Roku Ads Manager. Here’s how:

After a test campaign reached 211,000 households and achieved 1,010% ROAS, the brand went all in to promote its annual sales event. It removed age and income constraints to expand reach and shifted budget to custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

The results speak for themselves. As Blu Dot increased their investment by 10x, ROAS jumped to 2,308% and more page-view conversions surpassed 50,000.

“For CTV campaigns, Roku has been a top performer,” said Claire Folkestad, Paid Media Strategist, Blu Dot. “Comping to our other platforms, we have seen really strong ROAS… and highly efficient CPMs, lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Using Roku Ads Manager, the campaign moved from a pilot to a permanent performance engine for the brand.

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Clayface is about to be the star of his own movie, 86 years after he first showed up in Detective Comics. DC's R-rated body-horror film hits North American theaters on Friday, October 23. Comic collectors are asking the usual question: will his first appearances go up, and if they do, will it last? Here are the real sales, the real tracking numbers, and what past movies have done to keys like these.

Detective Comics #298 (Dec. 1961), CGC 9.0, the first Silver Age Clayface. ComicConnect lists this as a stock image. Image: ComicConnect.

The movie: small budget, big swing

Warner Bros. opens Clayface domestically on October 23, two days after its international release. James Watkins directs, and the film is the third entry in James Gunn's DC Universe after Superman and Supergirl (ComicBasics). The reported budget is about $40 million, which is tiny by superhero standards.

Forecasts are all over the place. Boxoffice Pro's first long-range forecast put the domestic opening at $23 million to $33 million, and newer tracking points to $30 million or more. Box Office Theory went lower, at $20 million to $26 million, and at least one outlet reported that pre-sales point to an opening under $20 million (ComicBasics). For comparison, Supergirl opened to $37.1 million in June.

The two Clayfaces that matter

Detective Comics #40 (1940): Basil Karlo. The original Clayface was a horror-movie actor turned killer, and his debut also has the Joker's first cover appearance. Heritage notes that the book is on Overstreet's Top 100 Golden Age list, and its listing cites Overstreet's 2024 guide at $9,000 in VG 4.0 and $13,500 in FN 6.0 (Heritage, Heritage lot via Lot-Art). It's scarce, too: CGC's census shows just 76 universal-grade copies as of October 13, 2026 (CGCdata).

Detective Comics #40 (1940), CGC 5.0, sold for $25,620 in 2026. Image: Heritage Auctions, HA.com.

Here are recent comps:

• CGC 5.0 sold for $25,620 at Heritage in early 2026 (PriceCharting, Lot-Art).

• CGC 3.0 sold for $12,810 at Heritage on May 14, 2026 (PriceCharting).

• CGC 6.5 Signature Series (Jerry Robinson) sold for $52,000 at MyComicShop in 2025 (Overstreet Access).

• CGC 6.5 Twilight Pedigree sold for $45,600 at Heritage on Jan. 26, 2024 (Heritage). The same copy resold for $36,000 on Jul. 25, 2025 (PriceCharting).

For perspective, a CGC 5.0 sold at Heritage for $2,509.50 back in 2009 (PriceCharting). Heritage's Feb. 2026 listing noted the film was in production (Heritage lot via Lot-Art).

Detective Comics #298 (1961): Matt Hagen. This book has the origin and first appearance of the Silver Age Clayface, with Sheldon Moldoff on cover and art. On September 13, ComicConnect sold a CGC 9.0 for $4,007.75 after 35 bids, and a CGC 5.0 for $977.50 after 17 bids (CGC 9.0, CGC 5.0). Both prices include ComicConnect's 15% buyer's premium.

How keys usually move around a movie

We have hard data on this from past releases. GoCollect tracked Marvel Super-Heroes #13, the first Carol Danvers, through Captain Marvel. A CGC 9.4 sold for $11,211 on March 14, 2019, ten days after release. By May it had dropped to $7,600, and the 90-day average later sank to about $5,000 (GoCollect). New Mutants #87, Cable's first appearance, ran $500 to $600 in CGC 9.8 through the spring 2018 run-up to Deadpool 2. By that October it was regularly selling for under $400 (GoCollect).

Not every key fades. GoCollect estimated that Venom pushed Amazing Spider-Man #300 about 24.8% to 44.7% above its expected price without the movie (GoCollect).

What it means for collectors and flippers

Our take (speculation): If history holds, the hype peak usually arrives around opening week, and that favors sellers of #298, especially mid-grade copies that people can actually afford. #40 is a different animal. It's a Golden Age book with a Joker cover, which gives it demand that doesn't depend on this movie. A flop probably hurts #298 more than #40. A breakout could pull both up and make the next Clayface keys worth watching.

What to watch next

• Opening weekend, Oct. 23–25: does it beat the $20 million low end or clear $30 million?

• Reviews and word of mouth: horror openings can grow on walk-up sales.

• Next #298 sales: the September ComicConnect results are the pre-release baseline to compare against.

• Any #40 on the block: with just 76 universal copies, every public sale resets the comps.

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