Steven Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' takes the box office crown

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Steven Spielberg’s latest sci-fi thriller, “Disclosure Day,” topped the box office this weekend, an encouraging sign for what could be a big summer for theaters.The film, which stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, brought in $44 million in the U.S.and Canada for a worldwide total of $92.9 million, according to studio estimates.

The opening weekend totals beat box office analysts’ expectations of about $40 million to $50 million.“Disclosure Day” is Spielberg’s latest alien-centric movie that charts a desperate race to show the world the truth about extraterrestrials.Hollywood Inc.

With a big opening weekend for “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” digital-native stories prove they can resonate at the box office — if they’re authentic.The film, which had a production budget of about $115 million, was also scored by legendary composer and longtime Spielberg collaborator John Williams, who is now 94 years old.Spielberg described the film in April as “way closer to truth than fiction” during a speech at the CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas.The veteran director of 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” 1982’s “E.T.

the Extra-Terrestrial” and 2005’s “War of the Worlds” said at the time that he’s been curious about “what’s going on in the night” since he was a child and “been very fixated on the possibilities.”Focus Features’ “Obsession” came in second at the box office with a domestic haul of $19 million, a continuation of the film’s strong run in theaters.“Scary Movie,” “Backrooms” and “Masters of the Universe” rounded out the top five at the box office.Recent box office performance — particularly with Gen Z hits “Obsession” and A24’s “Backrooms” — along with a slate of upcoming blockbuster franchise installments has buoyed the hopes of exhibitors and studio executives for a...