Steven Spielberg’s new alien thriller Disclosure Day is getting its first full reviews before its U.S. release.
The film opens in the United States on June 12, with Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo in the main cast. The official movie site lists Universal Pictures behind the theatrical rollout.
Early reviews are focusing on the movie’s UFO cover-up plot, Blunt’s lead performance, Josh O’Connor’s whistleblower storyline, and Spielberg’s return to large-scale science fiction. The film is directed by Spielberg and written by David Koepp from a story by Spielberg.
Disclosure Day does not follow a simple alien-arrival setup. The story centers on evidence of extraterrestrial life that has been kept from the public, and the people who try to release it before a private company can bury it again.
Reviews Point to Emily Blunt as the Standout
The Guardian praised Blunt’s performance as Margaret Fairchild, a Kansas City TV weather presenter who begins experiencing strange abilities. The review describes Margaret speaking languages she does not know, reading a traffic officer’s mind, and making alien-like clicking sounds during a live broadcast.
That role gives Blunt the movie’s most direct link between ordinary life and the alien mystery. Margaret is not introduced as a scientist or government insider. She is pulled into the story through symptoms she cannot explain, while Daniel Kellner, played by O’Connor, is already trying to expose what he knows.
RogerEbert.com also praised the movie as a blockbuster that stays entertaining while carrying moral and thematic weight. Its review singled out the cast, which also includes Firth, Hewson, Domingo, Wyatt Russell, and Elizabeth Marvel.
Josh O’Connor Plays the Whistleblower Running From Wardex
Entertainment Weekly reported that O’Connor plays Daniel Kellner, a programmer with evidence that could prove alien life exists. Daniel and Margaret are drawn together as the cover-up story moves from private archives to a public threat.
The company behind the secrecy is Wardex. Spielberg told EW that the film is not meant to be a full history of UFO lore, but a story about evidence that could reach the whole world at once. He also said Disclosure Day is not a sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, even though both films deal with hidden alien activity.
The difference is where the secret sits. Spielberg told EW that he does not believe governments can keep secrets as well as large companies can, and the film makes Wardex the force trying to keep the archive locked away.
Critics Praise the Chase Scenes, With Some Complaints About the Reveal
The Guardian called the movie entertaining and pointed to its chases, set pieces, and funny lines. Its review also said the film has a minor problem when the alien unknown becomes too visible, arguing that Spielberg’s suspense can be strongest when the creature or force is not fully shown.
That criticism is specific to the movie’s final stretch, not the whole premise. The same review still described Disclosure Day as an enjoyable alien-conspiracy adventure, while RogerEbert.com framed it as the kind of blockbuster that can be fun without dropping its bigger questions.
The reviews also keep returning to the film’s craft. The Guardian credits Spielberg and Koepp with a movie that moves quickly through whistleblower danger, psychic events, alien evidence, and corporate secrecy without dropping the human characters at the center.
Disclosure Day Opens This Week
Disclosure Day opens June 10 in the United Kingdom, June 11 in Australia, and June 12 in the United States, according to The Guardian. The official movie site lists tickets and showtimes for the U.S. theatrical release.
EW reported that Spielberg still gets nervous before opening weekend, even after more than 50 years of filmmaking. He told the outlet that the anxiety he felt before Duel in 1971 has not gone away.
The reviews give Spielberg a strong early conversation around his first alien movie in years: Blunt’s weather-presenter storyline, O’Connor’s fugitive programmer, Wardex’s archive of evidence, and a release built for theaters rather than streaming.