This weekend sees the return of Steven Spielberg to the tentpole sci-fi genre with Disclosure Day (read our review). While one of the all-time masters, Spielberg’s reception at the box office has been spotty as of late, with his last major hit being Ready Player One, which grossed an impressive $607 million worldwide back in 2018. His 2021 release, West Side Story, was widely seen as one of his best latter-day movies (which I agree with), but it was hampered by the pandemic, only mustering a $76 million worldwide total. His autobiographical The Fabelmans, while a much smaller movie, also struggled to break even, earning $46 million.
However, it could be argued that those were more difficult sells than Disclosure Day, as Spielberg’s sci-fi movies tend to always do well. It’s his fourth major film dealing with aliens, with both Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial being among the most successful films ever made when they were released (adjusted for inflation, E.T.grossed more than Titanic), while War of the Worlds was also a sizable hit, grossing $600 million worldwide.
While times have changed, and it’s unlikely Disclosure Day will be a blockbuster on the scale of some of his other hits, Spielberg’s name, the star power of Emily Blunt, and the intriguing trailers should allow the film to take the top spot at the box office this weekend with around $40 million.
Scary Movie, last week’s champ, will no doubt prove to be heavily front-loaded, with it looking at about $20 million. For me, the big question mark is how Obsession will do. Last weekend it still managed $25 million, and to me it has a good chance of leapfrogging over Scary Movie, with maybe $21 million. That said, even if it doesn’t, Obsession’s success is jaw-dropping, with it now the most successful film ever acquired at a film festival. Masters of the Universe will likely dip to about $17 million, while Backrooms should round out the top five with about $12 million.
Here are our predictions:
- Disclosure Day: $40 million
- Obsession: $21 million
- Scary Movie: $20 million
- Masters of the Universe: $17 million
- Backrooms: $12 million
What will you be checking out this weekend?
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed