Spielberg's Disclosure Day and Matchbox movie hit streaming Friday
Steven Spielberg's alien drama Disclosure Day starts streaming on Peacock on Friday, after earning $241 million worldwide in theaters. The same day, Apple TV releases Matchbox: The Movie, starring John Cena. Both give viewers a big new film to watch at home this weekend.
Two big movies arrive on streaming services on Friday, Oct. 9.
Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day starts streaming on Peacock, Variety and UPI reported. Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor star as a weather forecaster and a whistleblower who discover a link to alien life and risk their lives to reveal the truth about alien activity and abuse by the U.S. government. Colman Domingo, Colin Firth, Wyatt Russell and Eve Hewson also star.
The film opened in theaters on June 12 and earned $241 million around the world, Variety said. Universal spent $115 million to make it and $80 million to market it. It drew mostly positive reviews, with an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, though Variety's chief critic said it "doesn't take us anywhere overly surprising" by the end.
The story returns Spielberg to a favorite subject. Some of his biggest hits, including E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, are also about visitors from space. He has won best director Oscars for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, Variety noted.
The same day, Apple TV releases Matchbox: The Movie, based on the toy cars, Mattel said. Sam Hargrave directs, and John Cena leads a cast that includes Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris, Arturo Castro, Danai Gurira and Corey Stoll. Streaming Better describes the two-hour action film as the story of a group of childhood friends whose long-absent former leader, now an undercover CIA agent, returns to their small town and pulls them into a frantic chase to save the world.
Matchbox has a long history. Jack Odell invented the brand in 1953 because his daughter could only take a toy to school if it fit inside a matchbox, and Mattel says two Matchbox cars are sold every second.
The two releases show how studios now move films to streaming months after they open in theaters, giving a second life to movies that viewers may have missed.
How to watch: Disclosure Day requires a Peacock subscription, and Matchbox: The Movie requires Apple TV. Both arrive Friday.
What we know: Both films debut on streaming Friday, Oct. 9.
What we don't: How many viewers each film will draw at home.
Where outlets agree Variety and UPI both report that Disclosure Day, starring Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor, begins streaming on Peacock on Oct. 9 after opening in theaters June 12.
Where they differ Critics gave Disclosure Day an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score, while Variety reports audiences were more muted and its own critic found the ending unsurprising.