Steven Spielberg’s "Disclosure Day,” billed as his first popcorn movie in years, launched with $44 million in domestic theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Disclosure Day” opened largely as expected, collecting $92.9 million worldwide over its first weekend. That was good enough to give the 79-year-old Spielberg, who conceived the film's story, his best opening weekend for an original movie, not accounting to inflation.
Of course, Spielberg is the father of the modern blockbuster. But "Disclosure Day,” released by Universal Pictures, is his first summer movie in 10 years. And it opened in a much different movie world than once greeted "Jaws” or "Jurassic Park.” Its closest competition was the indie horror hit "Obsession,” directed by a YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, Curry Barker, more than 50 years Spielberg’s junior.
"It played very, very evenly across all of the U.S. and Canada,” said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. "It did not come across as a coastal big-market movie. It resonated with everybody.”
While a much-watched NBA finals game might have been expected to depress ticket sales, at least in New York, Orr said there was no noticeable dip in the city's box office numbers Saturday night.
After Gen Z propelled moviegoing for the last several weeks, a slightly older audience drove interest in "Disclosure Day.” Some 41% of moviegoers were aged 45 and up.
"What's encouraging is that we had this big an opening with that audience demographic and with the fact that it's an original film,” said Orr. "So if we're opening this well, and we think we're going to have great word-of-mouth, and we have an older audience that doesn't necessarily rush out on opening weekend, all of that points to a great run through the summer.”
"Disclosure Day” returns Spielberg to the subject of alien life. Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo star in a chase to reveal government evidence of UFO encounters. It cost $115 million to make.
While a good start, "Disclosure Day” - like most original movies - will depend on strong legs to be successful. Reviews (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been strong, though audience response wasn't overwhelming. The movie landed a "B” CinemaScore.
"It's off to a solid start,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak. "Let's see how it plays in the coming weeks. If it holds like some of these other films have, like 'Project Hail Mary,' 'Michael,' ‘Obsession,' it will be in good shape. Staying power has been the bread and butter of this year and this summer.”
Meanwhile, the "Obsession” sensation continues. Though it originally opened with $17.2 million, the Focus Features release has exceeded that for four consecutive weekends. It did so again this weekend, collecting $19 million in ticket sales to bring its North American haul to $188.3 million and its worldwide total to $286.5 million.
Having cost less than $1 million to make, "Obsession” ranks among the most profitable releases in recent memory. Focus acquired it for $15 million.
Last weekend’s top film, "Scary Movie,” slid to third place with $14.5 million. The Paramount Pictures release, the sixth entry in the horror spoof franchise, dropped steeply from its opening weekend, down 73%. But with a modest production budget of $30 million, the Miramax-produced sequel is already a considerable success. Its two-week domestic total is $88.6 million.
A24’s "Backrooms” added $11.3 million domestically in its third weekend. It's rapidly grossed $262.3 million globally.
In its second weekend, Amazon MGM’s "Masters of the Universe” fell fast following a disappointing launch. Its box office dropped 71% with $8.7 million. Its two-week domestic total stands at $46.7 million
Next weekend, The Walt Disney Co.'s "Toy Story 5” opens with big expectations at the box office.
