Spielberg’s Disclosure Day opens at No. 1 with $44 million

Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” led North American theaters with a $44 million domestic debut, according to studio estimates reported Sunday. The opening gives Universal Pictures a solid start for an original summer release at a time when franchise films and low-budget horror have been driving much of the box office.

The film brought in $92.9 million worldwide in its first weekend, according to the estimates. The Associated Press reported that the launch was Spielberg’s strongest opening for an original film without adjusting for inflation.

Universal distribution chief Jim Orr said the movie drew broadly across the United States and Canada rather than relying mainly on large coastal markets. Orr also said a closely watched NBA Finals game did not produce a visible Saturday-night slowdown in New York ticket sales.

“Disclosure Day” stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo in a story about a chase to expose government evidence of UFO encounters, according to the Associated Press. The film, which cost $115 million to produce, marks Spielberg’s return to alien-life material and is his first summer release in 10 years, AP reported.

The audience skewed older than recent box office leaders. Universal said 41% of ticket buyers were 45 or older, a group Orr described as less likely to rush to theaters on opening weekend, giving the studio confidence the film can keep selling tickets through the summer.

Reviews were favorable, with Rotten Tomatoes listing the film at 80% fresh, according to AP. Audience polling was more restrained: the film received a “B” grade from CinemaScore, AP reported.

Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, said the film’s next few weekends will determine the strength of its run. He told AP that recent releases such as “Project Hail Mary,” “Michael” and “Obsession” have benefited from staying power rather than relying only on opening-weekend sales.

Obsession keeps outperforming its debut

Focus Features’ “Obsession” continued one of the year’s strongest box office stories, taking second place with $19 million in North America, according to Rentrak estimates cited by AP. The indie horror film has now topped its original $17.2 million opening weekend for four straight weekends.

“Obsession,” directed by Curry Barker, has earned $188.3 million domestically and $286.5 million worldwide, according to AP. The film cost under $1 million to make, while Focus acquired it for $15 million, AP reported.

Last weekend’s leader, Paramount’s “Scary Movie,” fell to third with $14.5 million, according to Rentrak. AP reported the sixth film in the horror-spoof series dropped 73% from its debut but has reached $88.6 million domestically after two weekends against a $30 million production budget.

A24’s “Backrooms” added $11.3 million in its third domestic weekend and has reached $262.3 million worldwide, according to AP. Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe” took in $8.7 million in its second weekend after a 71% drop, bringing its domestic total to $46.7 million.

Weekend top 10

Rentrak said final domestic totals were due Monday. Its estimated Friday-to-Sunday rankings for U.S. and Canadian theaters were:

• “Disclosure Day,” $44 million
• “Obsession,” $19 million
• “Scary Movie,” $14.5 million
• “Backrooms,” $11.3 million
• “Masters of the Universe,” $8.7 million
• “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” $4.7 million
• “Michael,” $4.1 million
• “The Furious,” $2.8 million
• “Stop! That! Train!,” $2 million
• “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” $1.8 million

Disney’s “Toy Story 5” is scheduled to open next weekend, according to AP, with expectations that it will become the next major test for the summer box office.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.