Steven Spielberg’s alien conspiracy thriller “Disclosure Day” collected a leading $48.9 million from 73 territories in its international box office debut.
Overseas audiences will be key in the theatrical longevity of “Disclosure Day,” which Universal spent $115 million to produce and $80 million to market. Since about half of revenues go to theater owners, the movie needs to generate roughly $300 million globally to justify its price tag. Along with $44 million in North America, “Disclosure Day” has generated $92.9 million after three days of release. Reviews are positive, but audience reactions have been mixed, so a bigger question is how the film will endure on the big screen.
Spielberg is a household name through blockbusters like “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and Raiders of the Lost Arc,” and his movies are known to enjoy staying power at the box office. His prior summer blockbuster, 2018’s “Ready Player One,” for example, opened to $41 million and ended up with $137 million domestically and $607 million worldwide.
“Disclosure Day” stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor as a meteorologist and a cybersecurity expert who join forces to expose the government’s cover-up of extraterrestrial life. The movie had a notable turnout on premium large format screens, including Imax, which accounted for $6.5 million or 15% of overseas grosses. Top territories for “Disclosure Day” were the United Kingdom and Ireland with $7.6 million, Mexico with $3.9 million, China with $2.9 million and France with $2.9 million.
Elsewhere, “Michael” is nearing another box office milestone after adding $17 million internationally and $21 million globally in its eighth weekend of release. The musical biopic about Michael Jackson has generated $932.2 million worldwide to date and will soon eclipse the $950 million mark. Should ticket sales keep climbing and surpass $975 million, “Michael” will overtake “Oppenheimer” as the highest-grossing biopic of all time. The film has already dethroned “Bohemian Rhapsody” ($911 million) as the biggest musical biopic in history.
Other big-budget tentpoles have less to celebrate. Amazon MGM’s toy adaptation “Masters of the Universe” added a paltry $8.4 million from 86 markets in its second weekend of release, bringing its overseas tally to just $39.4 million. The otherworldly adventure, based on the Mattel toy that was popular in the ’80s, is approaching bomb status with $45.7 million domestically and $84 million globally against a mighty budget of nearly $200 million.
Meanwhile, Disney’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” continues to struggle, earning $7.1 million from 52 markets in its fourth frame. The family-friendly film, a spinoff of the popular Disney+ series “The Mandalorian,” has collected $150 million overseas and $315 million globally against a $165 million price tag. It’s shaping up to be the lowest-earning “Star Wars” movie of all time, an ignominious distinction that currently belongs to 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” with $179 million internationally and $392 million worldwide, not adjusted for inflation.
