‘Coyote vs. Acme’ Pulls off a Comeback as ‘Spider-Man’ Nears $900M and ‘The Dog Stars’ Struggles

Late August is usually a graveyard for new theatrical releases, the dead zone between summer blockbusters and the fall awards rush. This year, though, the box office had a little more drama than usual, with three very different films squaring off for audience attention over the same three days.

Sony and Marvel’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘ has spent five straight weekends proving that superhero fatigue has its limits, while two brand-new titles tried to carve out space of their own. One of them arrived with an unlikely redemption story behind it, and the other came in with A-list star power that ultimately couldn’t save it.

By the weekend’s end, the numbers told a clear story: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ is closing in on $900 million domestically, ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ turned in a stronger-than-expected $14 million debut with an ‘A’ CinemaScore, and Ridley Scott’s ‘The Dog Stars’ landed with a thud.

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ has now become the second-highest-grossing release ever at the North American box office, passing ‘Avengers: Endgame’s’ $858.3 million domestic haul according to Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day beating Avengers: Endgame to become the second highest grossing movie at the domestic box office with $858.4 million. Only ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ with its $936.7 million domestic total, remains ahead of it, and the film is expected to keep climbing toward the $900 million mark in the coming weeks. Worldwide, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ now sits at $2.22 billion. Deadline

‘Coyote vs. Acme’ had one of the stranger paths to theaters of any movie this year. Warner Bros. Discovery infamously shelved the completed Looney Tunes hybrid back in 2023 for a tax write-off, only for Ketchup Entertainment to swoop in and rescue it. That gamble appears to have paid off: the film debuted to roughly $14 million, backed by a rare ‘A’ CinemaScore, according to Deadline’s box office coverage. Critics have been kind too, with ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ sitting at a 95% “certified fresh” score, while audiences on Rotten Tomatoes have rated it even higher.

‘The Dog Stars’ did not share in that good fortune. Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic drama, based on Peter Heller’s novel and led by Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin, opened to around $8 million, a soft result for a film carrying a reported production budget as high as $110 million. The movie also received a lukewarm ‘C+’ CinemaScore from opening-night audiences, a grade that historically signals trouble for a film’s ability to hold up in the weeks that follow.

Critics weren’t especially kind to ‘The Dog Stars’ either, with the film landing at a mixed 40% on Rotten Tomatoes despite a stacked ensemble that also includes Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Benedict Wong, and Allison Janney. For a director with Scott’s pedigree and a cast with this much star wattage, the numbers represent one of his softer opening weekends in recent memory.

Taken together, the weekend was a reminder of just how unpredictable late-summer moviegoing can be. A five-week-old superhero sequel is still the biggest draw in theaters, a once-abandoned animated comedy found new life against the odds, and a starry prestige thriller from a legendary filmmaker couldn’t get audiences in the door. ‘Coyote vs. Acme’s’ strong reception, in particular, raises the question of whether it can expand beyond its already loyal online fanbase in the weeks ahead, while ‘The Dog Stars’ faces a much steeper climb to recoup its budget.

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