Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller “Disclosure Day” made first contact in theaters on Friday and topped the domestic box office charts.
“Disclosure Day” grossed $19 million in its opening day in 3,824 theaters in North America and is expected to gross $44 million by the end of the week. Universal is spending $115 million on the sci-fi thriller, meaning it will need to remain in theaters for weeks to break even. Fortunately for the studio, Spielberg has a proven track record of breaking through the middle with blockbusters and ultimately achieving great results. 2005’s War of the Worlds grossed $64 million domestically and $603 million worldwide on a budget of $132 million. Most recently, in 2018, Ready Player One opened to $41 million domestically against a $175 million budget and grossed $607 million worldwide.
Emily Blunt stars in Disclosure Day as Margaret Fairchild, a meteorologist who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to uncover a massive government cover-up of extraterrestrial life. Other cast members include Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, and Wyatt Russell.
Miraculously, Focus Features’ “Obsession” re-emerged into second place with $6.2 million in its fifth Friday in theaters. The indie horror is expected to earn another $21 million through Sunday, taking its domestic cume to a staggering $190 million. Directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, Obsession cost approximately $1 million to make, making it one of the most profitable films in living memory.
“Scary Movie” opened in North America in its second weekend, earning $4.8 million and ranking third domestically. Having collected $14.6 million by Sunday (down 73% from its opening day), the parody film is expected to take in $84.69 million at the domestic box office. Miramax only spent $30 million on “Scary Movie,” meaning it’s already a hit for the studio.
“Scary Movie” will see the return of series masterminds the Wayans brothers, who have been away from the series since 2001’s “Scary Movie 2.” Starring Marlon Wayans, Sean Wayans, and Damon Wayans, Jr., the screenplay was written by Craig Wayans and Keenen Ivory Wayans in collaboration with Rick Alvarez. Anna Faris and Regina Hall will also reprise their original Scary Movie roles as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks.
In fourth place on Friday was A24’s “Backrooms,” which earned an estimated $3.6 million domestically in its third Friday of release. Rivals expect the horror film to have added $12 million in production by the end of the week, bringing its North American total to about $160 million. “Backroom,” directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, who first introduced the concept of marginal horror on YouTube, cost about $10 million to make.
Finally, in fifth place was Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe,” which plummeted to $2.4 million in its second Friday of release. The film is expected to gross $9.2 million through Sunday, a 69% decrease from its initial release. The sci-fi action movie cost about $200 million to make and is on track to collect $47 million by the end of the week.
