Director Steven Spielberg is back at the box office with an original alien thriller, “Disclosure Day.” It has made $6.5 million at the box office in Thursday previews.

The Universal film is expected to open with $35 million at the box office this weekend and comes with a $115 million budget, plus $80 million in marketing costs. Despite Spielberg’s name and track record, it’s one of the summer’s riskier gambles to launch a twisty, conspiracy thriller that isn’t part of an existing IP or franchise. Some box office analysts predict that “Disclosure Day” would need to open with $50 million to justify its cost, and that it will need to make $300 globally to be profitable.

“Disclosure Day” stars Josh O’Connor as a cybersecurity expert who discovers proof that aliens exist and Emily Blunt as a meteorologist that has a mysterious connection to the extraterrestrials. The cast also includes Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell and more.

Spielberg’s last movie was 2022’s Oscar contender “The Fabelmans,” a semi-autobiographical family story that was nominated for best picture, director, original screenplay and more. Before that was 2021’s musical remake of “West Side Story,” but the director hasn’t had a major box office hit since “Ready Player One” in 2018. That made $607 million globally and was based on the video game-inspired book of the same name.

In recent weeks, the box office has been on a horror hot streak, with “Obsession,” “Backrooms” and “Scary Movie” all dominating the charts and becoming low-budget hits.