Box Office: ‘The Dog Stars’ Bombs With $8 Million Over Opening Weekend

“The Dog Stars” couldn’t beat the heat during the dog days of summer and melted down over its opening weekend.

Disney and 20th Century’s “The Dog Stars” opened to just $8 million domestically from 3,330 locations for a fifth-place finish. The post-apocalyptic thriller, which cost more than $80 million to produce, has not sat well with critics or audiences, receiving a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and just a “C+” grade from CinemaScore polls.

“The Dog Stars” is poised to lose tens of millions in its theatrical run, making it one of director Ridley Scott’s biggest misfires. The poor opening harkens back to Scott’s 2021 film “The Last Duel,” which opened to just $4.7 million in October of that year against a budget of about $100 million. The historical drama was also released by 20th Century, but it was received much better by critics. Scott, best known for classics like “Gladiator” and “Alien,” reached his box office peak in 2015 with “The Martian,” which grossed $630 million worldwide and earned seven Oscar nominations, including best picture.

“The Dog Stars” brings an up-and-down summer to an end for Disney. While the studio hit big with “Toy Story 5” ($1.12 billion) and “The Devil Wears Prada 2” ($692 million), it 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). Hard to imagine Disney is worried, considering “Avengers: Doomsday” is waiting in the wings for what will surely be a box office blowout in December.

“The Dog Star” stars Jacob Elordi as Hig, a lonely apocalypse survivor with a canine companion. After he picks up on a mysterious broadcast signal, he is determined to track the source. Other cast members include Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong.

This weekend’s other major newcomer,…