DISCLOSURE DAY Crashes Hard at the Box Office as Its Road to Profitability Gets Much Tougher

Steven Spielberg's latest sci-fi spectacle, Disclosure Day, arrived in theaters with plenty of anticipation, but just two weeks into its run, the movie has hit a rough patch that could make its financial future a lot more complicated.

The alien thriller took a significant tumble in its second weekend, dropping 62% domestically and bringing in $17.2 million from 3,824 theaters across North America. According to Forbes, that pushes the film's 10-day domestic total to approximately $78.3 million after opening with $44.5 million.

Worldwide, Disclosure Day has earned $160.4 million so far, with $78.3 million coming from domestic audiences and another $82.2 million from international markets. Universal Pictures launched the PG-13 sci-fi thriller on June 12 across 45 territories at the same time, hoping to generate strong momentum around the globe.

The film, which runs two hours and 25 minutes, was written by David Koepp from Spielberg's original story and stars Josh O'Connor, Emily Blunt, and Colin Firth.

While those numbers aren't terrible on their own, they become much more concerning when stacked against the film's reported costs.

Disclosure Day reportedly carried a production budget of $115 million, and Universal is said to have spent another $80 million on marketing and promotion. Industry estimates place the film's break-even point somewhere between $287 million and $300 million worldwide.

That means the movie has only reached a little over half of what it likely needs to earn before it can be considered profitable.

The audience response hasn't exactly helped its cause. The film earned a "B" CinemaScore, a respectable but hardly enthusiastic grade. That's the same score received by recent releases such as Masters of the Universe and In The Grey.

Demographically, the film has also struggled to attract younger moviegoers. Attendance among viewers under 17 was reportedly "virtually nonexistent," while only 14% of ticket buyers fell into the 18-to-24 age range.

Then came the arrival of Toy Story 5. Pixar's latest animated giant exploded into theaters with over $160 million opening weekend from 4,425 locations, immediately taking over the No. 1 spot and pushing Disclosure Day down to second place after just one week at the top.

Elsewhere on the box office chart, Obsession continued its impressive theatrical run, earning a projected $14.2 million in its seventh weekend and surpassing $300 million worldwide. Backrooms landed in fourth place with an estimated $7.5 million, boosting its domestic total to $175.3 million. Rounding out the top five was Scary Movie with $6.6 million.

Unfortunately for Disclosure Day, the competition isn't slowing down anytime soon. Supergirl flies into theaters on June 26, followed closely by Minions & Monsters on July 1. Both films are expected to attract large audiences, creating even more pressure on Spielberg's sci-fi thriller as it tries to hold onto screens and ticket sales.

Spielberg remains one of the most successful filmmakers in movie history, and it's far too early to completely count Disclosure Day out. International markets could still give the film a boost, but it’s not helping that the movie doesn’t seem to be generating any strong word of mouth.

After a steep second-weekend drop and a growing list of major releases arriving in theaters, Disclosure Day suddenly finds itself facing a much steeper climb than many expected.