Overview
- The film reached cinemas in key territories in mid‑June, opening in Latin America on Thursday, June 11 and in the United States and Spain on Friday, June 12, as a major Universal/Amblin summer release.
- In interviews before the release, Steven Spielberg said he "firmly believes" extraterrestrials have visited Earth, a comment he linked to eyewitness testimony and U.S. congressional UAP hearings that helped inspire the story.
- A coordinated display around Buenos Aires’s Obelisco briefly showed the message “Merecemos saber” on multiple advertising screens before the content switched to the movie trailer in an episode local press reported as a mass hacking.
- Early critical response is broadly favorable but mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes opening at about 89% and Metacritic near 73, and reviewers praising performances—especially Emily Blunt—visuals and spectacle while some critics faulted the film’s thematic depth.
- The release highlights Spielberg’s reunion with long‑time collaborators including writer David Koepp, composer John Williams and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński and features heavy marketing such as a limited collectible popcorn bucket that underscores the movie’s cultural and commercial push.