Steven Spielberg’s $115M thriller Disclosure Day earns $6.5M before release

Steven Spielberg’s latest film, Disclosure Day, has made a solid start at the box office, earning $6.5 million in Thursday preview screenings ahead of its full theatrical release.

The original sci-fi thriller, produced by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, is projected to open with approximately $35 million during its first weekend in North America. Industry observers are closely watching the film’s performance, as Disclosure Day represents one of the summer’s biggest original releases outside an established franchise.

According to reports, the film was produced on a budget of around $115 million, with an estimated additional $80 million spent on global marketing and promotion. Analysts suggest the film will need a strong theatrical run worldwide to achieve profitability.

Disclosure Day stars Josh O’Connor as a cybersecurity expert who uncovers evidence suggesting extraterrestrial life exists. Emily Blunt co-stars as a meteorologist whose mysterious connection to the aliens becomes central to the story. The ensemble cast also includes Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson and Wyatt Russell.

The film marks Spielberg’s return to large-scale science-fiction storytelling, a genre closely associated with some of the director’s most successful works. His previous feature, The Fabelmans (2022), received critical acclaim and multiple Academy Award nominations but delivered modest box office results. Before that, Spielberg directed West Side Story (2021).

His last major commercial success was Ready Player One in 2018, which earned more than $600 million globally.

The opening weekend performance of Disclosure Day is expected to provide an early indication of audience appetite for original blockbuster storytelling. The film arrives at a time when horror titles have recently dominated the box office, making its theatrical debut one of the industry's most closely watched releases this summer.