Ridley Scott's 'The Dog Stars' Arrives on Digital October 27, With 4K UHD and DVD on December 1

By The Entertainment Desk, Previously

October 20, 2026

Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars gets its second chance next week. 20th Century Studios has announced that the post-apocalyptic thriller arrives on premium digital platforms on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, with a 4K Ultra HD and DVD release following on December 1, according to the studio announcement carried by When To Stream and No(R)eruns.net. People, which revealed the dates with an exclusive deleted scene, confirms the same schedule: digital purchase on October 27, and 4K Ultra HD and DVD beginning December 1. The film first hit theaters on August 28, according to MovieWeb and ScreenRant, so the home release lands almost exactly two months later.

What is arriving, and where

According to the studio announcement, the digital edition will be available on premium platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home. The 4K Ultra HD edition offers high dynamic range, a wider color spectrum and immersive audio, according to the studio, and both the digital and physical editions include bonus content: a behind-the-scenes feature, The Making of The Dog Stars, and deleted scenes, with bonus features varying by product and retailer, according to Laughing Place. Laughing Place lists seven deleted scenes by title: “Jasper’s Funeral,” “Hig Mourns,” “Welcome Dinner,” “Roaches’ Warning,” “Hig & Cima,” “A Conversation With Pops” and “Airport Alternate Exit.” ScreenRant likewise confirms the making-of featurette leads the bonus lineup.

People’s exclusive deleted scene comes from early in the film: Hig, played by Jacob Elordi, sits down to dinner with Cima, played by Margaret Qualley, and her father Pops, played by Guy Pearce, at their off-the-beaten-path home. Hig, who says he has mostly eaten rodents in recent years, is delighted to be fed fresh trout, and the pair reveal that Cima worked as a doctor before the pandemic that killed most of humanity prior to the story’s start, according to People. It is a quiet scene, and a useful advertisement for the film’s actual register: this is a survival story told at the pace of two wary households deciding whether to trust each other.

The story: a pilot, a survivalist and a voice on the radio

The film is adapted from Peter Heller’s 2012 novel of the same name, written for the screen by Mark L. Smith and directed by Scott, according to When To Stream. People published the film’s official synopsis: Hig (Elordi), a young pilot, has carved out an efficient but isolated homestead alongside military survivalist Bangley (Josh Brolin) in a brutal post-apocalyptic world where, in the synopsis’s phrase, “survival is instinct, but humanity is a choice.” When a mysterious radio transmission breaks through their solitude, Hig is compelled to venture into the unknown in search of the hope, connection and humanity he still believes exists, according to the synopsis published by People. In an August interview, Heller told People he grew emotional seeing the film for the first time, recalling how he sat at his Denver coffee shop table telling himself, in his words to People, “don’t think, don’t think, just listen.” Heller told People that seeing the story come alive in a different medium, in the hands of great artists, was deeply moving.

An honest word about the theatrical run

The trade and entertainment coverage of this announcement is unusually blunt, and it is worth repeating plainly rather than dressing up. ScreenRant said the film “failed to make much of an impact at the box office” after its August 28 opening. MovieWeb said the 118-minute film “struggled to find an audience on the big screen,” calling it a box-office flop, while CBR described its summer premiere as meeting an underwhelming reception. ScreenRant puts figures to that verdict: it reports the film was made on an estimated budget of $110 million and grossed only $39 million worldwide, which it calls a significant bomb. The critical reception was cool as well — ScreenRant reports a 41% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes against a warmer 70% audience Popcornmeter score, and its own review by Jordan Williams rated the film 6 out of 10, praising Brolin as a standout alongside the visuals and atmosphere while faulting thin character work and pacing. The studio announcement itself leans on critical praise instead, and, according to the studio, Polygon’s Jake Kleinman called the film “a post-apocalyptic odyssey like no other,” with breathtaking cinematography and a captivating score.

That split — a cool commercial reception and warmer notices for the craft — is exactly the profile of a film that home release can rehabilitate. The two-month theatrical-to-digital window means the movie is still part of the current conversation when it reaches the platforms where a slow, atmospheric survival picture is most likely to find its audience one living room at a time.

What is not announced yet

One caution for subscribers: the October 27 date is a premium digital purchase and rental date, not a subscription streaming premiere. SlashFilm reports that, as of its coverage, no official streaming release date has been set for the film. Viewers who want to watch it at home next week will be buying or renting it from retailers such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home — the platforms named in the studio announcement — while collectors get the 4K Ultra HD and DVD editions on December 1. For more on what is arriving on screens this month, see our Coming Soon hub and the Previously browse pages.

The Dog Stars was always an unusual bet: a literary, quiet post-apocalyptic novel, a veteran director, and a young star in Elordi carrying long stretches of solitude. The box office delivered its verdict in August. Starting October 27, the audience gets to deliver a second one.