By Brent Lang, Rebecca Rubin
Niko Tavernise Steven Spielberg helped create the summer blockbuster with “Jaws,” a smash hit that opened in June 1975 and showed Hollywood how much money could be made when school’s out. It’s been more than 50 years since “Jaws” made audiences scared to go in the water, and Spielberg, who was 28 when the film premiered, is 79 and out to prove with “Disclosure Day” that he still knows how to draw crowds.
The alien invasion adventure opens on June 12 and, with its $115 million budget, represents one of summer’s biggest gambles — a twisty conspiracy thriller that doesn’t come wrapped in familiar IP. Because it’s an original story, Universal’s marketing has leaned heavily on Spielberg’s name to distinguish “Disclosure Day” from the franchise films and low-budget horror flicks that are dominating multiplexes. But the tracking is shaky, with the movie expected to open to $35 million — below the $50 million that some studios argue a film of that size should debut to in order to justify its cost. Because theaters keep roughly half of ticket sales and “Disclosure Day”’s marketing costs are about $80 million, rival executives believe the movie will need to earn $300 million globally to be profitable.
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