Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor in “Disclosure Day.”
Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment/Niko Tavernise
Steven Spielberg’s alien movie Disclosure Day is bringing in bigger audiences than expected.
Directed by Spielberg and scripted by David Koepp based on his collaborator’s original story, Disclosure Day played in Thursday previews before opening in 3,824 North American theaters on Friday. The film follows cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), who lifts secret files about the existence of aliens from Wardex, a covert non-government organization that used to employ him.
While the NGO is nipping at Daniel’s heels and ready and willing to take him out if necessary, TV meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) goes viral after she suddenly begins to utter what Wardex identifies as an alien language on the air. As it turns out, Daniel and Margaret are connected and must work together to disclose the existence of aliens to the world.
Including receipts from Thursday’s preview screenings, Disclosure Day will earn $18.5 million on Friday and is projected by Deadline to earn $42.5 million domestically by Sunday.
Should the projection hold, that’s good news for Disclosure Day’s studio Universal Pictures, considering that industry trades were forecasting a lower opening for the film earlier this week. Deadline projected a $35 million opening Friday to Sunday frame, while Box Office Pro pegged a $40 million to $50 million bow. Variety cast the widest net, projecting Disclosure Day would open with anywhere from $35 million to $50 million domestically.
Disclosure Day had a $115 million production budget with an additional $80 million spent on marketing, according to Variety.
A $42.5 Million Domestic Bow For ‘Disclosure Day’ Would Put Film In Spielberg’s Top 5 Biggest Openings
Should Deadline’s projection for Disclosure Day hold at $42.5 million, it will be enough to take the No. 5 spot on the list of Steven Spielberg’s biggest openings at the domestic box office.
Currently, that spot is held by the director’s science action adventure Ready Player One, which earned $41.7 million in its opening Friday to Sunday frame in 2018.
Not adjusted for inflation, Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is No. 1 on the director’s all-time list with $101.1 million in opening weekend in 2008. The Jurassic Park sequel The Lost World is next with $72.1 million opening in 1997, followed by War of the Worlds, which earned $64.8 million in its opening frame in 2004. Spielberg’s fourth-biggest opener is Jurassic Park, which made $50.1 million domestically in its first weekend in 1993.
The review embargo for Disclosure Day lifted on Tuesday, and the film had a 90% “fresh” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer after its early reviews posted. By day’s end Tuesday, the critics’ score dropped slightly to 87% “fresh” based on 127 reviews.
As of Friday night, the RT critics’ score leveled off at 81% “fresh” based on 271 reviews, while audiences gave it a 75% “fresh” Popcornmeter score based on 500-plus verified user ratings.
Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend as more numbers are reported. The final numbers for this weekend’s box office will be released on Monday.