Ridley Scott's Sci-Fi Comeback Builds on Streaming as 'The Dog Stars' Stalls in Theaters

The legendary Ridley Scott may not be the box-office draw that he once was, but he remains hugely popular on home video. His latest film, The Dog Stars, has had a particularly unfortunate theatrical run, grossing around $15 million domestically against a reported budget of around $100 million. It received mixed reviews, and was the bottom-most movie on the domestic leaderboard this past week — an unenviable achievement, considering that it was outperformed by three re-releases. That said, Scott appears to be bouncing back immediately on streaming, with one of his most divisive sci-fi movies staging a resurgence on Vudu.

The Dog Stars was Scott's first new sci-fi film in nearly a decade. However, like Steven Spielberg's return to the genre, Disclosure Day, it fell short of expectations. Disclosure Day didn't quite break out either, but it grossed nearly $250 million worldwide. The Dog Stars, on the other hand, seems to have stalled shy of the $50 million mark globally after a month of release. The movie holds a 41% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "A derivative and drowsy tour through the post-apocalypse, The Dog Stars' lush visuals can't compensate for its listless narrative and underpowered pacing." The film's digital release date hasn't yet been announced, but you can expect it to debut on PVOD platforms by the end of October.

Ridley Scott's 2017 Sci-Fi Thriller Remains Hugely Popular on Streaming

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Alternatively, you can join the many viewers that seem to be checking out Alien: Covenant. According to FlixPatrol, the divisive sci-fi movie was among the most-watched titles domestically on Vudu this week, proving that Scott's work remains massively popular at home. Alien: Covenant served as a sequel to Scott's equally divisive Prometheus, but it grossed only around $240 million worldwide against a reported budget of $100 million. The decline from Prometheus' $400 million-plus haul was simply too large for the Alien series to continue in that form. The franchise was resurrected by Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus a few years ago, but there has been no firm update on a sequel to that film either. Meanwhile, Scott has expressed interest in returning to the series, but he has also confessed that he wasn't a fan of Romulus. Covenant, starring Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston, holds a 65% score on Rotten Tomatoes, ranking behind both Prometheus and Romulus.