Spider-Man Holds, Ridley Scott Stumbles: The Dog Stars Opens to $8 Million
Spider-Man: Brand New Day held the top spot at the North American box office for a fifth weekend, earning an estimated $22.2 million — down 44% from the prior week — and pushing its domestic total to $891 million, according to Variety. Domestic, the United States and Canada combined. The Sony release now sits within striking distance of a historic benchmark: surpassing $936 million would overtake 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing film ever at the domestic box office. It opened to $360 million from 4,487 theatres on 31 July 2026, per Box Office Mojo.
Ridley Scott's The Dog Stars, a post-apocalyptic thriller from Disney and 20th Century, opened to approximately $8 million from 3,330 locations, finishing fifth. That figure is a studio estimate for the 28–30 August 2026 weekend; Monday actuals will confirm the final number. The film cost more than $80 million to produce, began with $850,000 in Thursday previews, and arrived to weak word of mouth: a 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a C+ CinemaScore — the latter drawn from opening-night audiences. It stars Jacob Elordi as Hig, an apocalypse survivor with a dog for company, alongside Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney, and Benedict Wong.
For Scott, the result echoes a familiar pattern. His 2021 film The Last Duel opened to $4.7 million against roughly $100 million in October 2021. His 2015 hit The Martian, by contrast, grossed $630 million worldwide and earned seven Oscar nominations including best picture. Both figures per Variety. The Dog Stars itself was pushed from an earlier slot to late summer 2026 as part of a round of Disney release-date changes that also moved Pixar's Gatto up to spring 2027, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The wider top five tells its own story. Universal's The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan, placed second in its seventh weekend with $14.6 million, reaching a North American total of $564 million. Coyote vs. Acme — the Warner Bros. shelved film once written off for tax credits and later rescued by Ketchup Entertainment — opened in third with an estimated $13.5 million from 3,575 screens. Sony's Insidious: Out of the Further took fourth with $10.1 million in its second weekend, a 60% drop, bringing its domestic total to $43 million against a production cost of about $18 million.
Disney's 2026 summer has been a mix of blockbuster and bust. Toy Story 5 has grossed $1.12 billion worldwide; The Devil Wears Prada 2 has reached $692 million. On the other side, the live-action Moana took $308 million against a $250 million budget, and The Mandalorian and Grogu managed $345 million against $165 million. The Dog Stars, with its $8 million opening against an $80 million-plus budget, now joins that second column.
All weekend grosses cited above are studio estimates. Final figures arrive Monday.
