Spider-Man: Brand New Day continued its extraordinary run at the North American box office, remaining at No. 1 for a fifth consecutive weekend as Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars stumbled badly in its opening frame. The Marvel blockbuster collected $22.2 million from 3,678 theatres between August 28 and 30, while The Dog Stars opened in fifth place with just $8 million from 3,330 locations.
The fifth consecutive No. 1 weekend further establishes Spider-Man: Brand New Day as one of the year’s major theatrical successes. The film fell 43% from the previous weekend but still remained comfortably ahead of the competition. Its domestic total has now reached $891.508 million, leaving it less than $9 million short of the $900 million milestone after 31 days in release.
The film’s worldwide performance has been equally remarkable. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has crossed $2.33 billion globally, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film worldwide, according to the Associated Press. Its fifth-weekend domestic haul of $22.2 million is also among the strongest fifth weekends recorded at the North American box office.
The weekend’s strongest new release was Coyote vs. Acme, which opened at No. 2 with $15.469 million from 3,575 theatres. The result marks the biggest opening in the history of indie distributor Ketchup Entertainment, which rescued the film after Warner Bros. had shelved it in 2023.
The film’s theatrical release is an unusual Hollywood comeback story. Warner Bros. had originally opted to take a tax write-off on the completed $70 million production rather than release it. Following considerable backlash, the studio allowed the film to be sold, with Ketchup Entertainment eventually acquiring worldwide distribution rights.
Coyote vs. Acme also arrived with considerably stronger word of mouth than its modest projections suggested. The live-action/animation hybrid, starring Will Forte, John Cena and Lana Condor, has earned an A CinemaScore and a 95% Rotten Tomatoes critics score. Its $15.47 million opening is nearly twice that of The Dog Stars.
The Odyssey continued to demonstrate strong staying power, taking third place with $14.3 million in its seventh weekend. The Christopher Nolan epic fell only 27% and has now accumulated $563.822 million domestically. Its international performance remains particularly strong, helping push its worldwide total to approximately $1.55 billion.
Insidious: Out of the Further dropped from second to fourth place in its second weekend, earning $10.1 million. The horror sequel experienced a steep 60% decline and now stands at $43.63 million domestically after 10 days.
The weekend’s biggest disappointment was undoubtedly The Dog Stars. Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic drama, starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin and Margaret Qualley, managed only $8 million in its domestic debut, placing fifth. Its $2,402 per-theatre average was also considerably below the $4,327 average achieved by Coyote vs. Acme, despite the two films playing in almost the same number of theatres.
The opening is particularly troubling given the film’s reported production cost, which has been estimated in the $70 million-$100 million range. The film also added approximately $11.3 million internationally, according to the Associated Press, giving it a worldwide opening of roughly $19.3 million.
The reception has not helped The Dog Stars. Variety reports a 39% Rotten Tomatoes critics score and a C+ CinemaScore, suggesting that the film faces an uphill battle in the coming weeks.
The contrast between the two major new releases is striking. Coyote vs. Acme, a film that was once considered destined never to reach cinemas, opened at nearly twice the level of The Dog Stars. Meanwhile, the Ridley Scott film arrived with the backing of a major studio and a large-scale theatrical campaign but failed to convert that profile into a substantial opening. The weekend therefore provides an unusual example of a shelved film emerging as a theatrical success story while a much larger production struggles to find an audience.
Elsewhere, Buddy opened in sixth place with $5.36 million from 1,258 theatres. The End of Oak Street followed in seventh with $4.95 million, while PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie took eighth with $4.875 million. Mutiny and Tony rounded out the Top 10 with $2.75 million and $2.22 million, respectively.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day continuing to hold the top spot five weeks into its run, Coyote vs. Acme delivering a better-than-expected debut and The Dog Stars suffering a major opening-weekend setback, the final weekend of August produced three very different theatrical stories.
U.S. Domestic Weekend Box Office Top 10
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day — $22,200,000
- Coyote vs. Acme — $15,468,754
- The Odyssey — $14,300,000
- Insidious: Out of the Further — $10,100,000
- The Dog Stars — $8,000,000
- Buddy — $5,360,000
- The End of Oak Street — $4,950,000
- PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie — $4,875,000
- Mutiny — $2,750,335
- Tony — $2,220,448