STEVEN Spielberg’s latest sci-fi thriller, ‘Disclosure Day’, debuted in first place at the North American box office with USD44 million (approx. RM177.3 million) in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.
With an ensemble cast led by Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, the action-packed film follows an effort to reveal a decades-long coverup of extra-terrestrial visitations.
Decades after making ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (1977) and ‘E.T.’ (1982), Spielberg returns to the burning question of whether humanity is alone – but with a setting in our modern AI- and social media-altered world.
Industry analyst, David A. Gross, called the USD44-million debut a “very good opening for an original sci-fi thriller”.
“The film’s success is going to depend on how well it holds,” he said, adding that “reception is very good, but with Steven Spielberg, many people want great”.
Second place went to Focus Features’ indie horror hit ‘Obsession’, which took in another USD19 million (RM76.6 million) in its fifth week out for a total domestic haul of USD188.3 million (RM758.9 million), Exhibitor Relations reported.
Directed by 26-year-old Curry Baker on a budget of less than USD1 million (approx. RM4 million), the film has ridden strong critical and audience reviews to a whopping global estimated haul of USD286 million (approx. RM1.153 billion).
Variety said it represented Focus Features’ highest grossing film of all time and noted that it had now had four consecutive weekends above its “already-impressive USD17 million approx. RM68.5 million) debut”.
Inde Navarrette has earned particular plaudits for her leading role as a young woman who becomes hauntingly infatuated with a man, played by Michael Johnston, after he makes a magical wish for her affection.
Third place went to Paramount’s reboot of the ‘Scary Movie’ parody franchise, with USD14.5 million (RM58.4 million) in its second week out.
A24’s horror film ‘Backrooms’ came in fourth with USD11.3 million (approx. RM45.5 million), taking its domestic total to USD160 million (approx. RM644.8 million) after a record-breaking debut two weeks ago.
The film is based on 20-year-old director, Kane Parsons’ viral YouTube series and has now earned over USD262 million (approx. RM1.056 billion) at the global box office on a budget of just USD10 million (approx. RM40 million).
Starring Oscar nominees, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, the movie follows a furniture shop owner (Ejiofor) who discovers a mysterious, labyrinthine complex underneath his store.
Fifth place went to MGM’s ‘Masters of the Universe’ reboot, which took in just USD8.7 million (RM35.1 million) in its second week out – a 70 per cent drop from its already modest debut.
With a production budget of over USD200 million (approx. RM800 million), Variety said, the adventure film, based on a 1980s Mattel toy, “will leave theatres as one of the year’s biggest bombs”.
