Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” has enjoyed quite a theatrical run. The sci-fi thriller grossed $112 million domestically and $230 million globally. With a cast that includes Emily Blunt, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo, the film certainly proved itself against the two big heavyweights of the summer, Kane Parson’s “Backrooms” and Curry Barker’s “Obsession.”
Despite its sci-fi threads, Spielberg doesn’t consider the film science fiction, or at least not in the traditional sense. “It’s my first film that will be considered science fiction that I do not consider to be science fiction,” he told Associated Press. “It’s much more reflective of the world as it is evolving and discoveries that are being made as we speak.”
Rooted in modern life, the film explores alien encounters when cybersecurity whistleblower Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) possesses documents proving not only the existence of extraterrestrial beings but also direct sightings. His corporate boss Noah Scanlon (Firth) attempts to keep it all under wraps while meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Blunt) experiences a lightning bolt moment.
Amidst the aliens storyline, there’s empathy right at its center. “We have it, sometimes we can’t use it,” Spielberg said. “Sometimes it’s not allowed to be used if you want to stay aligned with your friends and your belief systems.”
‘Disclosure Day’ Arrives July 21 on Streaming
“Disclosure Day” will be available for rent and purchase on Apple TV and all other major digital retailers on July 21, 2026.
The VOD date follows its June 12 theatrical release, giving moviegoers ample time to enjoy the larger-than-life story in the company of strangers. The 39-day window is not a surprise given Spielberg’s staunch stance on streaming. In a conversation with ITV News, he offered one big stipulation about whether he would ever work with Netflix. “The idea of sending little cassettes, little DVDs, to individuals to watch a movie, if I did that,” he said, “I would be happy to work for Netflix and make a movie for Netflix.”
Even so, he’s a filmmaker first and foremost and believes “in big motion picture, 70-millimeter theatrical experiences” that capture the spirit of a film in real time.
‘Disclosure Day’ Arrives Nearly 50 Years After ‘Close Encounters’
“Disclosure Day” comes nearly 50 years after Steven Spielberg’s landmark 1977 film, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” which starred Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon and Teri Garr. The sci-fi horror grossed $306.8 million globally and followed several big films, notably the blockbuster shark film, “Jaws” (1975).
Ironically, both “Disclosure Day” and “Close Encounters” explore the idea of life on other planets. Spielberg admits that he’s always “been a believer since I made ‘Close Encounters’,” he said in the aforementioned Associated Press interview. “But I would always say: Until I’ve seen a UAP or a UFO with my own eyes, I’m not going to categorically state that life from out there has come here.”
49 years later, that opinion has shifted tremendously. “I’m now willing to change my mind because of the circumstantial evidence, which is overwhelming,” he added.
“Disclosure Day” arrives as a spiritual successor to “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and considering that the National Security Agency (NSA) released papers stating “we are not alone in the universe,” fiction isn’t far from reality.
