The Dog Stars bombs at box office as Spider-Man holds No. 1
The Dog Stars opened to just $8 million domestically over its opening weekend, finishing fifth at the box office while Spider-Man: Brand New Day held the top spot with $22.2 million in its fifth frame. Disney and 20th Century's $80 million-plus post-apocalyptic thriller drew poor reviews and a C+ CinemaScore, marking another costly misfire for director Ridley Scott.
Key Takeaways
- The Dog Stars earned $8 million from 3,330 locations, landing in fifth place on a weak opening weekend.
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day topped the chart again with $22.2 million, pushing its domestic total to $891 million.
- Coyote vs. Acme opened third with $13.5 million, while Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey took second with $14.6 million.
- Insidious: Out of the Further finished fourth with $10.1 million in its second weekend.
- Spider-Man is closing in on the all-time domestic record held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Why did The Dog Stars flop at the box office?
Disney and 20th Century's The Dog Stars couldn't beat the heat during the dog days of summer. The post-apocalyptic thriller opened to just $8 million from 3,330 locations, a fifth-place finish for a film that cost above $80 million to produce.
Audiences and critics alike rejected the release. It holds a 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes and earned a C+ grade from CinemaScore polls. The poor opening harkens back to Ridley Scott's 2021 film The Last Duel, which opened to $4.7 million against a roughly $100 million budget.
Scott, best known for Gladiator and Alien, reached his box office peak in 2015 with The Martian, which grossed $630 million worldwide. The Dog Stars stars Jacob Elordi as Hig, a lonely apocalypse survivor with a canine companion who tracks a mysterious broadcast signal. Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong round out the cast.
How is Spider-Man: Brand New Day performing in its fifth weekend?
Sony and Marvel's Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned $22.2 million through Sunday, dropping just 44% from the prior week. That figure pushes the superhero epic's domestic total to $891 million, keeping it firmly at No. 1.
After surpassing $936 million, Brand New Day will become the highest-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office, overtaking 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. When it clears that benchmark, it will be on track to become the first film ever to hit $1 billion in North America alone.
For more on what's driving theatrical and streaming trends, see our Streaming & TV Alerts coverage.
What other new releases competed this weekend?
Coyote vs. Acme landed in third place with an estimated $13.5 million domestically from 3,575 screens. The live-action-animation hybrid was abandoned by Warner Bros. for tax credits before Ketchup Entertainment saved the title and slated it for theatrical release in March 2025.
Will Forte, Lana Condor and John Cena star in the Looney Tunes tale of Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation. Universal's The Odyssey continued to impress in second place, earning $14.6 million in its seventh weekend for a North American haul of $564 million.
Sony's Insidious: Out of the Further made $10.1 million in its second weekend, a 60% drop that still put the $18 million horror sequel in fourth place with $43 million domestic to date. Full weekend figures are available via Variety's box office report.
What does this weekend mean for Disney's summer?
The Dog Stars brings an up-and-down summer to an end for Disney. The studio hit big with Toy Story 5 ($1.12 billion) and The Devil Wears Prada 2 ($692 million), but also fielded misfires like the live-action Moana ($308 million against a $250 million budget) and The Mandalorian and Grogu ($345 million against a $165 million budget).
The Dog Stars is poised to lose tens of millions in its theatrical run, making it one of Scott's biggest misfires. Still, Disney is unlikely to be worried long term with Avengers: Doomsday waiting in the wings for a December box office blowout.