Ridley Scott’s $110 Million ‘The Dog Stars’ Just Bombed in Previews, and the Numbers Are Brutal

Late-August has never been a particularly forgiving release window for major studio films, often serving as the dumping ground for projects that studios have already lost confidence in. Even so, few filmmakers carry the kind of box office pedigree that would normally make a late-summer slot feel like less of a gamble.

That reputation is being tested in a serious way this weekend, as one of cinema’s most celebrated directors watches his latest big-budget effort stumble right out of the gate.

Ridley Scott’s ‘The Dog Stars’ made just $850,000 in Thursday previews, an alarmingly low start for a film reportedly carrying a $110 million budget. According to Deadline, that preview total puts the post-apocalyptic thriller, led by Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin, on pace for a domestic opening weekend somewhere in the $8 million to $9 million range, a devastating outcome for a film of this scale.

The comparison points used heading into the weekend only make the numbers look worse. Deadline noted that last year’s ‘The Amateur,’ a Rami Malek thriller from 20th Century Studios, pulled in $2 million in previews on its way to a $14.8 million opening weekend, meaning ‘The Dog Stars’ is trailing that modest benchmark by a wide margin. Critics haven’t helped matters either, with the film currently sitting at just 40% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel of the same name, ‘The Dog Stars’ follows Hig, a former civilian pilot played by Elordi, living at an abandoned airfield alongside Bangley, a former Marine played by Brolin, in the aftermath of a flu pandemic that’s emptied most of the world. The cast also includes Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney, and Benedict Wong, giving the film a genuinely stacked ensemble for a story built around survival and mutual defense in a collapsed society.

According to Central Jersey’s roundup of early reviews, critical complaints have largely centered on pacing and purpose, with one review calling the film “bizarrely inert” while others questioned whether a post-apocalyptic story arriving in 2026 needed a stronger reason to exist. That critical reception has clearly weighed on tracking, with domestic opening projections sliding from an initial $18 million to $23 million range down toward figures closer to $10 million to $14 million in more recent estimates.

The film’s budget has become a genuine point of contention throughout its rollout, with World of Reel reporting that some trade outlets have suggested the true cost may actually sit closer to $70 million to $80 million, though 20th Century Studios and Wikipedia both list the figure at $110 million. Regardless of the exact number, the consensus among box office analysts is that the film needs significantly stronger results than what Thursday’s previews suggest to avoid becoming a genuine financial loss for the studio.

‘The Dog Stars’ also faces brutal timing, opening the same weekend as both ‘Coyote vs. Acme,’ which pulled in a comparatively strong $1.7 million in previews, and the continued dominance of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ which is closing in on a $900 million domestic total. Despite the rough reception, Scott himself shows no signs of slowing down, with multiple new projects reportedly in development, including a Bee Gees biopic, a new Western, and an adaptation of ‘Treasure Island’ starring Hugh Jackman.

With reviews unfavorable and preview numbers this weak, ‘The Dog Stars’ appears headed for one of the more difficult opening weekends of Scott’s decades-long career.

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