Audiences Are Far Kinder than Critics to Ridley Scott’s ‘The Dog Stars,’ New Rotten Tomatoes Numbers Reveal

Critical consensus and audience reaction don’t always line up, but few recent releases illustrate that divide quite as starkly as Ridley Scott’s latest venture into post-apocalyptic storytelling. When a filmmaker’s own confidence in a project collides with a rocky critical reception, the resulting gap between reviewers and moviegoers becomes a story in itself.

‘The Dog Stars,’ Scott’s adaptation of Peter Heller’s acclaimed 2012 novel, arrived in theaters this week carrying considerable expectations, both from Scott’s own public remarks about the project and from a cast led by Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin. That confidence hasn’t translated cleanly into critical praise, leaving the film’s reception noticeably split.

Now that audience numbers are officially in, that split has become even more apparent. With over 100 verified ratings counted, ‘The Dog Stars’ has earned a solid 71 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, according to ScreenRant, standing in sharp contrast to its considerably weaker critical reception.

That audience number sits alongside a 40 percent Tomatometer score from more than 150 professional reviews, creating a substantial 31-point gap between how critics and general viewers responded to the film. For context, that represents the widest critic-audience split on any Scott film since 2006’s ‘A Good Year,’ which similarly saw a 26 percent critic score against a 66 percent audience response.

The film’s critical reception marks a genuinely difficult moment for the 88-year-old director, whose 40 percent Tomatometer score now stands as his lowest-rated project of the decade. It also represents his weakest showing with critics since 2014’s ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings,’ a comparison that stings given Scott’s own public remarks describing ‘The Dog Stars’ as probably the best movie he’s made since ‘The Martian.’

Reviews have largely criticized the film’s pacing, clunky narrative transitions between its dual storylines, and what several critics described as a failure to capture the emotional depth of Heller’s source material. Despite that critical pushback, several reviewers did single out Elordi and Margaret Qualley’s performances as genuine highlights carrying the film’s grounded, character-driven elements.

That divide between overall reception and specific praise for the cast helps explain why audiences may be responding more warmly than critics. Even outlets that gave the film mixed reviews have acknowledged its striking visuals and emotionally resonant central performances, elements that appear to be resonating more directly with general moviegoers than with professional critics evaluating the film’s broader structural choices.

The film follows Hig, a former civilian pilot played by Elordi, navigating a post-apocalyptic world following a devastating flu pandemic, alongside Bangley, a hardened former Marine played by Brolin. Despite the film’s box office struggles and mixed critical reception, this stronger-than-expected audience score offers at least one encouraging signal for a release that’s otherwise faced significant headwinds since its debut.

Whether that audience goodwill translates into stronger word-of-mouth momentum in the weeks ahead remains uncertain, particularly given the film’s already soft opening weekend numbers. Still, a 71 percent audience score suggests ‘The Dog Stars’ may find a more receptive life with general viewers than its critical reception alone would indicate.

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