By Janet H. Cho
Amblin's Disclosure Day, a Steven Spielberg-directed sci-fi thriller about the discovery and confirmation that we aren't alone in the universe, topped the weekend domestic box office despite competing with live sporting events.
It sold an estimated $44 million in domestic tickets in its first weekend, but was Spielberg's highest-grossing opening weekend for an original film he directed, and is expected to continue drawing audiences in coming weeks.
Disclosure Day also opened at the top of the global box office, selling an estimated $92.9 million in 73 territories worldwide. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, and was distributed by Comcast's Universal Pictures.
Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak's head of marketplace trends, said Disclosure Day faced stiff competition from major sporting events including Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night and World Cup matches, "but likely got a boost from this week's most recent drop by the government of a third batch of declassified UFO and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena files and footage."
He noted that Universal's Jurassic Park, directed by Spielberg, sold $50.2 million domestically in its opening weekend in June 1993, but went on to sell more than $924.1 million worldwide.
For Hollywood, domestic box office sales of $4.17 billion so far this year are about 13% ahead of this point last year, and the summer box office since May 1 is outpacing last summer by an estimated 11%. Dergarabedian expects both the summer and full-year domestic box office to be the biggest postpandemic.
"Impressively, the summer of '26 is running just 3.5% behind the Avengers: Endgame-powered summer of '19," Dergarabedian said. Walt Disney released Avengers: Endgame in April 2019 and it went on to sell $858.4 million in domestic ticket sales and $2.8 billion worldwide, becoming the biggest film of 2o19, according to BoxOfficeMojo.
This year, the slate of domestic films still drawing moviegoers includes Gen Z horror favorites Obsession and Backrooms, and horror movie parody Scary Movie.
In second place for the weekend, Focus Features' Obsession grossed $19 million in its fourth weekend, which is also the fourth straight weekend it has outsold its $17.2 million opening weekend gross. The film, written and directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, has grossed $188.4 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $286.5 million globally, which Dergarabedian calls "astonishing."
In third, Paramount's Scary Movie sold $14.5 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $84.6 million, and its worldwide total to $173.2 million.
In fourth place, A24's Backrooms, directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, sold another $11.3 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $160 million and its global total to $262.3 million, according to Rentrak.
Lionsgate's Michael , about the King of Pop Michael Jackson, sold another $4.3 million this weekend. The film has grossed $362.8 million domestically, and -- -- globally, including $65.2 million on IMAX screens.
"The summer movie season is vitally important and is the best barometer to gauge how a full year might perform," Dergarabedian told Barron's. "A big part of the enthusiasm for and confidence in the prospects of the biggest summer and year for movie theaters is the unexpected nearly $350 million in domestic box office added to the summer bottom line by Obsession and Backrooms."
Dergarabedian doesn't see the momentum slowing, with Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5, the first Toy Story to be rated PG, expected to set a franchise-high debut when it opens on Friday, with the potential for over $150 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. It reunites Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the toys as they compete against the appeal of electronic toys.
Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 14, 2026 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)
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