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NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2013 Steven Spielberg\u2019s \u201cDisclosure Day,\u201d<\/a> billed as his first popcorn movie in years, launched with $44 million in domestic theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. <\/p>\n \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d opened largely as expected, collecting $92.9 million worldwide over its first weekend. That was good enough to give the 79-year-old Spielberg, who conceived the film’s story, his best opening weekend for an original movie, not accounting to inflation. <\/p>\n Of course, Spielberg is the father of the modern blockbuster. But \u201cDisclosure Day,\u201d released by Universal Pictures, is his first summer movie in 10 years. And it opened in a much different movie world than once greeted \u201cJaws\u201d or \u201cJurassic Park.\u201d Its closest competition was the indie horror hit \u201cObsession,\u201d<\/a> directed by a YouTuber-turned-filmmaker, Curry Barker, more than 50 years Spielberg\u2019s junior. <\/p>\n \u201cIt played very, very evenly across all of the U.S. and Canada,\u201d said Jim Orr, distribution chief for Universal. \u201cIt did not come across as a coastal big-market movie. It resonated with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n While a much-watched NBA finals game<\/a> might have been expected to depress ticket sales, at least in New York, Orr said there was no noticeable dip in the city’s box office numbers Saturday night. <\/p>\n After Gen Z propelled moviegoing for the last several weeks, a slightly older audience drove interest in \u201cDisclosure Day.\u201d Some 41% of moviegoers were aged 45 and up. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat’s encouraging is that we had this big an opening with that audience demographic and with the fact that it’s an original film,\u201d said Orr. \u201cSo if we’re opening this well, and we think we’re going to have great word-of-mouth, and we have an older audience that doesn’t necessarily rush out on opening weekend, all of that points to a great run through the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d returns Spielberg to the subject of alien life. Emily Blunt, Josh O\u2019Connor<\/a> and Colman Domingo star in a chase to reveal government evidence of UFO encounters. It cost $115 million to make. <\/p>\n While a good start, \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d \u2014 like most original movies \u2014 will depend on strong legs to be successful. Reviews (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) have been strong<\/a>, though audience response wasn’t overwhelming. The movie landed a \u201cB\u201d CinemaScore. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s off to a solid start,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak. \u201cLet’s see how it plays in the coming weeks. If it holds like some of these other films have, like ‘Project Hail Mary,’ ‘Michael,’ \u2018Obsession,’ it will be in good shape. Staying power has been the bread and butter of this year and this summer.\u201d <\/p>\n Meanwhile, the \u201cObsession\u201d sensation continues. Though it originally opened with $17.2 million, the Focus Features release has exceeded that for four consecutive weekends. It did so again this weekend, collecting $19 million in ticket sales to bring its North American haul to $188.3 million and its worldwide total to $286.5 million. <\/p>\n Having cost less than $1 million to make, \u201cObsession\u201d ranks among the most profitable releases in recent memory. Focus acquired it for $15 million. <\/p>\n Last weekend\u2019s top film, \u201cScary Movie,\u201d<\/a> slid to third place with $14.5 million. The Paramount Pictures release, the sixth entry in the horror spoof franchise, dropped steeply from its opening weekend, down 73%. But with a modest production budget of $30 million, the Miramax-produced sequel is already a considerable success. Its two-week domestic total is $88.6 million. <\/p>\n