It’s been 12 years since acclaimed director Steven Spielberg last tread into alien and UFO territory, and his latest return is off to a solid start. Disclosure Day has topped the weekend box office with a global opening of US$93 million, including US$48.9 million from the domestic market.
The figure puts it as his top-grossing domestic debut for an original feature and the fifth-best overall, after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (US$100.1 million), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (US$72.1 million), War of the Worlds (US$64.8 million), and Jurassic Park (US$47 million), all not adjusted for inflation. 1998’s Saving Private Ryan was the previous record holder, sitting at US$30.05 million.
Starring Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada 2) and Josh O’Connor (Challengers), Disclosure Day — written by longtime Spielberg collaborator David Koepp — follows a meteorologist and a cybersecurity expert who join forces to expose the government’s cover-up of extraterrestrial life. Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Eve Hewson (Bridge of Spies), and Colman Domingo (Euphoria) are among the other names in the ensemble cast.
In second place is Curry Barker’s low-budget psychological horror film Obsession, which continues to be a word-of-mouth hit. It added another US$19 million to a domestic haul of US$188.3 million (US$286.5 million internationally), and is now the biggest film domestically and globally for indie outfit Focus Pictures. More notably, the feature debut has surpassed its own opening gross every weekend since its premiere, a rare feat in itself.
Rounding out the top five are Scary Movie, which earned an additional US$14.5 million to a US$84 million domestic total, followed by Backrooms (US$11.2 million and US$160 million, respectively), and Masters of the Universe (US$8.6 million / US$46.7 million). Meanwhile, the seventh-placed Michael has generated US$932.2 million worldwide to date, dethroning 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody (US$911 million) as the highest-grossing musical biopic in history and is on track to overtake Oppenheimer should ticket sales keep up.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
