Ridley Scott's New Sci-Fi Thriller Instantly Finds Redemption As One Of Streaming's Biggest Movies

Published Oct 28, 2026, 5:52 PM EDT Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more. Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics." Ridley Scott's new sci-fi thriller is flying high on digital instantly after it was released, finding redemption after a disappointing theatrical run. Scott is responsible for helming some of the best sci-fi movies of all time. After all, the director was behind iconic films like the cyberpunk franchise starter Blade Runner, as well as the sci-fi horror movie Alien, both of which continue to produce new projects as major movie and TV show franchises. For instance, on the small screen, Prime Video's Blade Runner 2099 will be released on November 25, while FX's Alien: Earth season 2 is expected for 2027. In recent years, Scott's growing list of movies has faced some issues when it comes to the box office. Movies like The Last Duel, House of Gucci, Napoleon, and Gladiator II all ranged from fine to disappointing to outright bombs in terms of their performance at the box office. Adding to that list of divisive releases from one of the most influential directors of all time is 2026's The Dog Stars, Scott's new sci-fi thriller featuring stars like Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and more. Now, the post-apocalyptic thriller has gone on to find success after arriving on digital. Scott's The Dog Stars Has Flown Up Apple's VOD Charts At the time of writing, The Dog Stars stands as the 3rd most popular movie on the Apple TV Store's Top 20 Movies chart in the United States, as per data from FlixPatrol. The Dog Stars was released in theaters on August 28. The new Scott sci-fi movie has now become a digital hit right after becoming available to watch at home, as The Dog Stars was released on digital on October 27. Also on that chart are two recent theatrical releases that dropped on VOD on that same day, with Forgotten Island in 10th and Anne Hathaway's Verity in 1st. The Dog Stars is now present on a coveted chart that features several high-profile movies. Alongside the 2026 sci-fi release are Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the James Gunn co-written Coyote vs. Acme, Reacher star Alan Ritchson's new action movie Runner, 2026 horror sensations Obsession and Backrooms, Christopher Nolan's fantasy epic The Odyssey, and many more. The Dog Stars becoming an instant US hit on digital is the absolute best-case scenario for a movie that needed that result, as Scott's new sci-fi thriller manages to find redemption now that it is available in another format, escaping its theatrical disappointment. The Sci-Fi Film Hit A New Low For Scott Based on a reported budget of $110 million, The Dog Stars needed to finish its box office run in the range of $220 million to $275 million in order to break even. It failed to do so, with Scott's new R-rated sci-fi thriller ending its global run with $39 million. Another negative element for The Dog Stars came from the sci-fi movie's Rotten Tomatoes score. At just 41%, The Dog Stars holds Scott's worst critics' score for a movie he directed since 2014's Exodus: Gods and Kings, which sits at 29%. As such, The Dog Stars' digital success is the movie's redemption. Release Date August 28, 2026 Runtime 119 minutes Director Ridley Scott Writers Mark L. Smith Producers Mark L. Smith, Michael A. Pruss, Ridley Scott, Cliff Roberts