6/12-6/14: Spielberg Scores Another #1 Movie Opening with DISCLOSURE DAY

Jun 14, 2026

DISCLOSURE DAY from Universal became the 20^th Steven Spielberg-directed movie to open in first place, after bringing in $44.0M over the past three days. Unfortunately, this success was somewhat marred by two of the year’s most severe second weekend drops, with SCARY MOVIE declining 73% from last weekend’s first place opening and MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE going down 71%. All films this weekend earned $120M, below the $153.7M taken in on this same weekend last year led by an $84.6M opening for HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. While this weekend’s lower gross than last year is unfortunate, the previous two weekends were above 2025 and the next two weekends will also do well by comparison with the 6/19 opening of Disney and Pixar’s TOY STORY 5 and the 6/26 launch of Warner Bros. and DC’s SUPERGIRL and Paramount’s JACKASS: BEST AND LAST.

When the second quarter ends in two weeks, the total first half 2026 box office will be approximately 13% higher than the first half of 2025. In the industry’s quest to break through the $9.0B domestic box office ceiling in 2026, we need to keep in mind that last year’s $8.62B total box office fell $380M short of that goal. Even with 2026’s excellent beginning, we are still only projecting a total 2026 box office of $9.1B at this point. Both TOY STORY 5 and SUPERGIRL are arriving later this month with high expectations and if those movies overperform expectations, we may be tempted to raise our 2026 annual forecast to $9.2B. The surprising successes of horror hits OBSESSION and BACROOMS have offset the underperformance of higher-profile pictures this year.

Despite the box office from this year’s Memorial Day weekend coming in 32% below last year’s holiday, the other three weeks that we are including in our “The Last Four Weeks” comparison have produced a higher box office than their matching weekends in 2025. As a result, the Memorial Day drop-off has been manageable and we are still confident that the 2026 box office will be the biggest since 2019.

THE LAST FOUR WEEKS – 2026 vs. 2025

#1 – DISCLOSURE DAY

Universal’s DISCLOSURE DAY, Steven Spielberg’s alien encounter sci-fi thriller, finished in first place in its opening weekend by earning $44.0M. It did very well internationally as well, resulting in a total worldwide box office of $92.9M. This is the 35^th feature film directed by Spielberg and marks a return for the famous filmmaker to the science-fiction genre, with a focus on the extra-terrestrial. This topic was a staple of his early career, with trend-setting successes including CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982), and WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005). DISCLOSURE DAY was written by Spielberg’s longtime collaborator David Koepp, who partnered with Spielberg in the past on JURASSIC PARK (1993), THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (1997), and WAR OF THE WORLDS (2005). Spielberg spent years developing his concept for the movie, inspired by his own idea to explore humanity’s reaction to the confirmation of extra-terrestrial life. Koepp is reported to have written more than 40 full drafts of the screenplay before production began.

The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo and Eve Hewson. Blunt is best known for her starring roles in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2006), EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014) and the A QUIET PLACE series (2018, 2020 and 2024). O’Connor is known for his work on “The Crown” TV series and CHALLENGERS (2024). Firth starred memorably in THE KING’S SPEECH (2010) and KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE (2015). Domingo performed in SING SING (2023) and the “Euphoria” hit series. Eve Hewson of starred in the Irish TV series “Bad Sisters” and the American medical drama “The Knick.”

Spielberg chose to keep the plot of his new movie secret, only indicating that it centers on a revelation that humanity is not alone in the universe. Emily Blunt plays a meteorologist from Kansas City who is swept up in a series of strange events connected to an extraterrestrial contact. Josh O’Connor portrays a whistleblower seeking to expose these hidden truths. The film combines elements of science fiction, mystery, and a conspiracy thriller as the world confronts what may be the biggest news in human history. The title refers to the concept of a ” disclosure” from UFO culture—the moment when humanity learns definitively that extraterrestrial life exists.

Critics seem to appreciate the film, giving it an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes while audiences have weighed in with a 74% score. Here are some of the critics’ comments. The Atlantic loved it, saying, “Disclosure Day’s epic conclusion comes across as if Spielberg is sending the audience a message, begging them to use their hearts and heads too… I loved every second.” The San Francisco Chronicle was also very high on it, saying, “The movie has a boyish enthusiasm and a belief in itself that’s irresistible. Plus, it’s a cracking good thriller, powered by Emily Blunt’s terrific, multilayered, many-accented performance.” USA Today noted that, “Past and present are utilized in such a fascinating way as the filmmaker takes his premise to a logical, honest, and heartfelt conclusion.” Not everyone was on board, however, with the Film Verdict saying, “That sensation of déjà vu with diminishing returns permeates the whole of Disclosure Day, which feels like a tour of tropes that Spielberg has tackled with greater skill and sensitivity earlier in his illustrious career.”

The film was not cheap to make because of its large ensemble cast and extensive visual effects, including IMAX presentation. Having spent $115M on its production, it will need to earn $288M worldwide to make a profit from movie ticket sales. For a comparison film, we were tempted to look back to Spielberg’s classic CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND from 1977, but the lack of financial data from movies released almost 50 years ago prevented us from going in that direction. Instead, we chose to compare it with CONTACT from 1997. Both films focus on humanity’s response to evidence of extraterrestrial life rather than an outright alien invasion.

DISCLOSURE DAY vs. CONTACT

#2 – OBSESSION

OBSESSION, the horror phenomenon from Focus Features, climbed up from last weekend’s fourth place finish to second by bringing in $19.0M in new ticket sales, a drop of only 25% from last weekend. This brings its 31-day totals to $188.4M domestically and a spectacular $286.5M globally and this gravity-defying film is showing no signs of letting up. The chart below shows how the picture has performed over the five weekends since it opened. We compare its performance to that of a generic film that started with the same opening weekend box office but dropped each week by a typical 40%.

OBSESSION’s Five Weekends in Theatres

In Hollywood, it is never too soon to think about a sequel for a successful original film. In the case of OBSESSION, those discussions intensified with each successful week it has played in theatres. At this point, there is no doubt that Focus Features and their creative partner Blumhouse want to make another OBSESSION, but the question remains what direction it should take. We envision three possible directions for a sequel.

A Direct Sequel – making a traditional sequel following the lives of surviving characters from the original.
Anthology Film – with this film, this could be the more natural route to take creatively. The “wish gone wrong” mythology could support entirely new characters and stories while retaining the OBSESSION brand. Think of FINAL DESTINATION.
Delay a Sequel – Curry Barker has already become one of the hottest young directors in Hollywood. He recently completed another film, ANYTHING BUT GHOSTS, and has been attached to a new version of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. The studio may decide that Barker’s next original project is more valuable than immediately producing another OBSESSION.

The bigger question is whether Curry Barker wants to spend the next several years building the OBSESSION franchise or following the path of successful young directors like Jordan Peele and Zach Cregger by leveraging an early breakout hit to launch a career of original horror films. Based on Barker’s recent comments and career trajectory, the latter may be more appealing. In interviews, the director has said that he wants to build a long-term career as an original horror filmmaker and not be known solely as “The OBSESSION Guy.” Focus Features should plan on developing OBSESSION 2, but perhaps not right away. The better strategy may be to support Curry Barker in making another original film and then return with an OBSESSION sequel in 2028 or 2029. In some cases, absence can make the heart grow fonder.

OBSESSION vs. TALK TO ME after 24 Days

#3 – SCARY MOVIE

After claiming the top spot last weekend, Paramount’s horror spoof revival SCARY MOVIE slipped into third place with a second weekend gross of $14.5M, a decline of 73%. Even with this steep drop, the film has generated $84.6M domestically and $173.2M worldwide in its first 10 days, amounting to a certain financial success.

Produced for only $30M – a fraction of the cost of today’s major tentpole releases – the film opened with an impressive $54.3M domestically and $105.5M worldwide, making it profitable after its first 3 days. With its current global total of $173.2M, SCARY MOVIE has hit a worldwide box office to production cost ratio of 5.8-to-1. Much of the credit belongs to the return of the Wayans brothers and franchise favorites Anna Faris and Regina Hall, whose involvement restored the irreverent spirit that made the original movies from the early 2000s a hit.

The most important takeaway may be the decision on what should come next. While critics have been mixed on the new chapter, audiences have responded far more enthusiastically, proving that the filmmakers delivered exactly what their audience wanted to see. With the franchise now surpassing $1B in lifetime global box office and the latest installment already profitable, another SCARY MOVIE appears inevitable. The only challenge may be timing; successful spoofs require several fresh targets. Opportunistically, this year’s horror sensations OBSESSION and BACKROOMS seem tailor-made for a SCARY MOVIE parody. In fact, one could argue that those films helped prime audiences for SCARY MOVIE by placing the horror genre front and center in the weeks before SCARY MOVIE’s release. Paramount and the Wayans brothers deserve credit for successfully reviving a franchise that many believed had been laid to rest 13 years ago.

SCARY MOVIE vs. SCARY MOVIE 5 after 10 Days

#4 – BACKROOMS

A24’s horror movie, BACKROOMS, finished in fourth place in its third weekend by adding $11.3M, a drop of 57%. This brings its 17-day box office totals to domestically $160.0M and $262.3M worldwide. While BACKROOMS started stronger than OBSESSION with an opening weekend of $81.4M vs. OBSESSION’s $17.2M, it has followed a more typical week-to-week decline in ticket sales while OBSESSION has soared. We expect BACKROOMS to finish up with a domestic gross of around $185.0M, which would make it the 6^th highest-grossing movie in North America so far this year. This is quite a performance for a film that only cost $10M to produce.

At this point, the industry narrative around BACKROOMS has shifted from “surprise hit” to “industry phenomenon”. The film opened to an extraordinary $81.4M domestically and $118M worldwide, delivering the biggest opening weekend in the history of A24. It has now surpassed $200M globally, also making it the studio’s highest-grossing film ever. Industry analysts view the film as a watershed moment because it originated as a YouTube horror series created by then-teenager Kane Parsons rather than following the path of a traditional Hollywood script. Many analysts view the film as validation that audiences are hungry for original concepts rather than established studio franchises. Even Steven Spielberg, this weekend’s box office champ, has praised the success of BACKROOMS by saying that he was charmed to see a low-budget film achieve such stellar box-office results.

A24 executives have not formally announced a sequel, but the studio’s actions and public comments strongly suggest that they will. BACKROOMS has become one of A24’s most valuable properties, and the studio has promoted the film’s record-setting milestones heavily. More importantly, director Kane Parsons has stated that he is not finished with the BACKROOMS universe. In multiple interviews following his movie’s opening, Parsons stated that the story feels “unfinished,” that he has a “plan in line” for a follow-up, and that audiences will likely be seeing more of the franchise in the near future.

BACKROOMS vs. OBSESSION after 17 Days

#5 – MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE from Amazon MGM fell from second place last weekend all the way down to fifth, earning only $8.7M in its second weekend and dropping a steep 71%. This brings its 10-day totals to $46.7M domestically and $86.1M worldwide. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE began by earning 97% of the box office total for our comparison film JOHN CARTER in its opening weekend. However, MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is sliding back by comparison, now running at only 88% of JOHN CARTER’s box office after 10 days. This does not even take into account the adjustment to JOHN CARTER’s box office totals for 14 years of inflation since it was playing in theatres. This is not the trajectory that Amazon MGM was looking for, given that it spent $175M on its production.

The reaction to MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE’s disappointing ticket sales reveals a fascinating divide between traditional success at the box office and Amazon MGM’s perspective. The film’s soft debut of $29.3M domestically was certainly a disappointment, considering its expensive $170M production budget and the iconic status of the Mattel toy brand. SCARY MOVIE dominated most industry headlines last weekend, eclipsing MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE’s relatively unimpressive debut.

Several factors have been cited for the underperformance. While HE-MAN remains a beloved brand among Gen X audiences, awareness with younger moviegoers appears to be limited. Competition from SCARY MOVIE and the holdover horror sensations OBSESSION and BACKROOMS diluted demand. Reviews were mixed, but not enough to generate an enthusiastic word-of-mouth effect to drive sales. The bar to achieve success was set very high after Amazon MGM spent so much on the movie’s production. Some question whether the magnitude of investment in this property was justified, given an uncertain appeal to contemporary audiences.

However, Amazon MGM has pushed back strongly against the narrative that the film is a failure. Rather than focusing exclusively on ticket sales, the studio has framed the theatrical release as the first stage of a much larger monetization strategy. Amazon MGM executives have described the opening as an important launch point for awareness, engagement, and future viewership across the broader Prime ecosystem. The studio’s execs see theatrical revenue as only one component of the film’s overall value proposition.

Industry observers remain skeptical. Conventional theatrical economics suggest that a film with a production budget of $170M would need to earn a worldwide box office of $450M to break even after adding in marketing expenses, distribution fees, and exhibitor splits. Based on its opening weekend and current trajectory, it seems increasingly unlikely that MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE will get anywhere close to that number in ticket sales.

Ultimately, the film may become a clear example of the growing divergence between traditional box office metrics and the economics of success in the streaming era. While continued week-to-week declines of 50% or more would cement the movie’s status as a theatrical underachiever, Amazon MGM may still be satisfied with its film in the context of a much broader commercial strategy.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE vs. JOHN CARTER after 10 Days