Steven Spielberg took the stage at CinemaCon for the first time in his career to promote his upcoming Universal release, Disclosure Day.
Spielberg accepted the Motion Picture Association’s America 250 Award from the group’s chair, Charles Rivkin, in celebration of the director’s work that embraces the nation’s wonders.
“I haven’t done a Western yet — that’s next,” the 79-year-old director said. He noted that his first CinemaCon stage appearance had been great: “This will not be my last, I promise.”
He recalled his transformative first visit to the cinema: “Nothing could compete with sitting in the first three rows of a movie palace, watching a Cecil B. DeMille epic with color by Technicolor. Nothing would ever be the same.”
Spielberg admitted, “Sometimes, it feels to me like a cage fight between the small screen and the big screen.” He noted that the theatergoing experience was “clobbered” by COVID but added, “There was reason for hope.” He went on to praise projects like Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, which counted Spielberg as a producer.
Then, the filmmaker sat down onstage with star Colman Domingo to discuss the exhibition business, with Spielberg recalling inviting his boyhood friends over to his parents’ home to screen popular titles. “I made money by charging 12 cents on popcorn,” he quipped.
Turning to Disclosure Day, the director explained that he has long been fascinated by the potential for extraterrestrial life. “I’ve been curious ever since I was a little kid about what’s happening in the night sky, what’s happening in the sky during the daytime,” Spielberg said. He remembered his dad telling him about “advanced civilizations” that didn’t exist on Earth.
At CinemaCon on Wednesday afternoon, Universal Pictures offered an extended new look at Disclosure Day, its new alien-themed sci-fi thriller from Steven Spielberg.
Already, we’ve seen a teaser and full-length trailer for the film. In Las Vegas, Spielberg was on hand for new footage.
With its mix of classic Spielberg wonder, a star-studded cast, and an Irish talent in the spotlight, “Disclosure Day” is already shaping up to be one of the most talked-about releases of 2026.
The film is set to hit cinemas June 12, 2026.
