Steven Spielbergโs latest sci-fi thriller, โDisclosure Day,โ topped the box office this weekend, an encouraging sign for what could be a big summer for theaters.
The film, which stars Emily Blunt and Josh OโConnor, brought in $44 million in the U.S. and Canada for a worldwide total of $92.9 million, according to studio estimates. The opening weekend totals beat box office analystsโ expectations of about $40 million to $50 million.
โDisclosure Dayโ is Spielbergโs latest alien-centric movie that charts a desperate race to show the world the truth about extraterrestrials.
The film, which had a production budget of about $115 million, was also scored by legendary composer and longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams, who is now 94 years old.
Spielberg described the film in April as โway closer to truth than fictionโ during a speech at the CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas. The veteran director of 1977โs โClose Encounters of the Third Kind,โ 1982โs โE.T. the Extra-Terrestrialโ and 2005โs โWar of the Worldsโ said at the time that heโs been curious about โwhatโs going on in the nightโ since he was a child and โbeen very fixated on the possibilities.โ
Focus Featuresโ โObsessionโ came in second at the box office with a domestic haul of $19 million, a continuation of the filmโs strong run in theaters.
โScary Movie,โ โBackroomsโ and โMasters of the Universeโ rounded out the top five at the box office.
Recent box office performance โ particularly with Gen Z hits โObsessionโ and A24โs โBackroomsโ โ along with a slate of upcoming blockbuster franchise installments has buoyed the hopes of exhibitors and studio executives for a strong summer.
Next week, Walt Disney Co. and Pixar will release โToy Story 5,โ while Warner Bros.โ DC Studios has โSupergirlโ landing in late June.
Universal Pictures and Illuminationโs โMinions & Monsters,โ Disneyโs live-action โMoana,โ Christopher Nolanโs โThe Odysseyโ and Sony Picturesโ โSpider-Man: Brand New Dayโ are all slated for July.
That steady cadence of new and different films is key for a healthy box office and a successful summer, said Daniel Loria, editorial director at the Box Office Co.
โWeโre seeing that momentum come back on a weekend-by-weekend basis,โ he said. โWhat we needed to get back to a healthy industry post-pandemic is consistency, and thatโs the difference here in 2026.โ