Ridley Scott is either losing his mind, or trolling us all … A few years ago, he told Empire Magazine that “Gladiator II” was “the best thing I’ve ever made” and confided to the AP, “I think it’s my best film.” When the time finally came to see the film, well, it wasn’t.
That happened again in June 2026, when Scott told The Buyer that “The Dog Stars” is “probably the best movie I’ve done since The Martian.”
A few months later, “The Dog Stars” has been panned by critics (40% on Rotten Tomatoes) and bombed at the box office ($7M opening weekend), and he’s now denying to AlloCine that he ever claimed ‘Dog Stars’ was his best film since “The Martian.”
Interviewer: you’ve said “The Dog Stars” was your best movie since “The Martian.”
Scott: I didn’t say that. Somebody else said that. Since “The Martian”? I’ve done some great movies since then. I did ‘Gucci’ .. “The Last Duel” is great.
At this point, Scott’s filmography may need a new category: Best Movie Ridley Scott Says He Didn’t Say Was His Best Movie. Or perhaps he’s simply keeping us guessing. After all, if he keeps declaring every new film his masterpiece, and then denying he said it, we may eventually have to start wondering whether the real work of genius is his ability to convince us he never said it in the first place.
No official figure has been reported, but best guess is the budget landed somewhere in the $10M range. HBO pre-bought the streaming rights, but that was before David Ellison took over