Steven Spielberg sets box office record with 'Disclosure Day'

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYMon, June 15, 2026 at 4:54 PM UTC

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Steven Spielberg is still the king of the summer blockbuster.

"Disclosure Day," the filmmaker's latest big-screen alien adventure, came in at No. 1 at the domestic box office this weekend with a $44 million debut, according to studio estimates released June 14 by Rentrak.

That's a strong start for a movie that isn't a sequel, part of a franchise or based on any preexisting material, and it set a new record for Spielberg: It's the legendary director's biggest opening weekend for an original movie ever.

Spielberg's top opening at the domestic box office in general, not adjusted for inflation, is 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which debuted with $100 million. His other sizable openings include "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" ($72 million) and "War of the Worlds" ($64 million), though neither of those films is original; the former was a sequel, and the latter based on a book.

Emily Blunt in Steven Spielberg's "Disclosure Day."

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"Disclosure Day," on the other hand, was a completely new idea that Spielberg came up with and is not derived from any specific source material. Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor and Eve Hewson lead the sci-fi chase movie, which centers on an effort to disclosure the existence of aliens to the world. Colman Domingo and Colin Firth also star.

By returning to the subject of aliens, which he has explored in several movies including "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Spielberg nabbed a box-office comeback with "Disclosure Day." His last two movies, 2022's "The Fabelmans" and 2021's "West Side Story," each grossed less than $40 million domestically during their entire theatrical runs.

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For Spielberg, the movie also marked a return to summer blockbusters, which the Oscar winner helped popularize in the first place with the release of "Jaws" in 1975. Over the past decade, though, Spielberg has been more focused on adult-oriented dramas like "The Fabelmans" and "The Post." "Disclosure Day" was his first movie to be released during the summer movie season since 2016's "The BFG," and a return to the kind of popcorn entertainment he is most closely identified with.

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The "Disclosure Day" opening is another win for original movies during a summer where one of the biggest hits of the season, the buzzy horror film "Obsession," is also not based on anything. The horror movie "Backrooms" has similarly been a smash this summer, despite not being a sequel or part of a franchise, though it was based on a web series and internet meme.

"Disclosure Day" was sold largely on Spielberg's name, which was placed prominently above the title on posters, and the director made the rounds in a major promotional tour that included stops on Michelle Obama's podcast and Stephen Colbert's "Late Show." In interviews for the film, Spielberg revealed he does not see "Disclosure Day" as totally science fiction.

"Since the beginning of the 21st century, there's been more and more access to the actual visual truth," he told USA TODAY. "We're able to confirm our belief by showing what we shot on our devices to other people. It's just become overwhelming to me that we're not alone in the universe."

Spielberg hasn't announced what his next movie will be after "Disclosure Day." But in an interview with "The Big Picture" earlier this year, he revealed he has a project in development in a genre he has always wanted to explore: the Western.

Contributing: Patrick Ryan

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Disclosure Day' box office is a record for Steven Spielberg

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