Ridley Scott and the first Harry Potter close out August in Italian cinemas
Five titles released on 26 August, including The Dog Stars – Le stelle dopo la fine distributed by Walt Disney and the re-release of Chris Columbus's film. The month closes with 25 releases, on the eve of the opening of Venice.
On 26 August, five films were released in Italian cinemas, according to MYmovies’s calendar: it is the final round of a month that saw 25 releases overall, and which precedes the opening of the Venice Film Festival by one week.
The title with the greatest distribution weight is The Dog Stars – Le stelle dopo la fine, directed by Ridley Scott, with Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Jacob Elordi and Guy Pearce, distributed by Walt Disney. Alongside it, La vendetta perfetta – Bear Country, a comedy-thriller with Russell Crowe, distributed by 01. The third notable release is not a new film: Warner Bros Italia brought Chris Columbus’s Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale back to theatres.
A catalogue title alongside the new releases
In the same week, then, a recent auteur title and a re-released catalogue film coexist. The list of releases for 26 August was checked against two independent sources, MYmovies’s calendar and Box Office’s service referring to films in theatres from that date. The month had already hosted, on 19 August, the live-action remake of the Disney film Oceania.
| Italian releases of 26 August | Distribution |
|---|---|
| The Dog Stars – Le stelle dopo la fine (Ridley Scott) | Walt Disney |
| La vendetta perfetta – Bear Country (with Russell Crowe) | 01 |
| Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale (Chris Columbus, re-release) | Warner Bros Italia |
| Total releases for the month | 25 |
The sources consulted do not report already-tallied box office figures for these titles: the available material concerns the release calendar, not theatrical results.
The calendar that is opening
This newspaper has already covered the programme of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, for instance on 24 August with the two Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement to George Clooney and Ellen Burstyn. The new element compared with the theatrical release list is the overlap: the Lido event runs from 2 to 12 September 2026, with Alberto Barbera as artistic director, confirmed also for 2027 and 2028, according to statements from the Biennale and the presentation reported by Sky TG24.
The opening film, in competition, is Ink by Danny Boyle, 116 minutes, with Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce and Claire Foy: the actor thus appears both in the last title released in cinemas in August and in the film opening the Festival. Twenty films are in competition, five of them Italian; the international jury is chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal; the closing film, out of competition, is Dio ride by Giovanni Veronesi, on 12 September after the award ceremony, as also indicated by La Voce di Venezia.
What can be measured
The first numerical check will concern the actual box office takings for the weekend following 26 August, which the sources consulted do not currently report. The second is 1 September, when the Sala Darsena is scheduled to host the Festival’s pre-opening event with a tribute to Tinto Brass and a screening of Col cuore in gola, from 1967.
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