Ridley Scott's Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Thriller The Dog Stars Arrives on Digital After Disappointing Theatrical Run

Weeks after ending its theatrical run, Ridley Scott's latest film is set for a PVOD debut. The movie was released at the end of August, and had mostly wrapped up its box-office run by mid-September. It marks Scott's long-awaited return to the genre that he is most commonly associated with, arriving nearly a decade after the sci-fi horror film Alien: Covenant. A few weeks before the film's release, another legendary director made a sci-fi comeback with a movie that fell short of box-office expectations. But that film — Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day — seems like a blockbuster compared to Scott's new sci-fi flop.

Starring Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin, the post-apocalyptic epic cost around $100 million to produce. This is a budget range that Scott has thrived in, having made hits such as Gladiator, The Martian, and Prometheus for roughly the same amount. In recent years, however, Scott's luck at the box office appears to have run out. He hasn't released a bona fide hit since 2015's The Martian, which grossed around $630 million worldwide, but has delivered high-profile misfires such as Exodus: Gods and Kings, All the Money in the World, Napoleon, and The Last Duel. His most expensive movie, Gladiator II, wasn't successful enough to justify its reported $300 million-plus budget. It barely matched the performance of the original Gladiator, which was released a quarter-century earlier.