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Ben Smallbone is bringing a new and modern approach to the post-apocalyptic genre, and Dawn Olivieri is at the heart of it in Homestead. Smallbone is a filmmaker known for his work in the faith-based genre, having helmed numerous music videos for the group For King & Country, while also co-writing, directing and editing the thriller Priceless and the documentary Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon. Olivieri first found success as a recurring player in Heroes and the Don Cheadle-led House of Lies before becoming part of Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone universe, playing Claire Dutton in 1883 and Sarah Atwood in season 5 of the mainline show.

Smallbone is in the director's chair for Homestead, adapting the novel Black Autumn, in which the United States is rocked by a variety of nuclear attacks, with chaos ensuing as people scramble to acquire supplies and find safety by any means necessary. Olivieri stars...

Homestead is struggling early in its box office run. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, the movie follows Neal McDonough's Ian Ross, as he works to secure his family's safety after a devastating nuclear attack. McDonough previously starred in Yellowstone as Malcolm Beck, in Tulsa King as Cal Thresher, and in Minority Report as Officer Fletcher. This latest movie was inspired by the book Black Autumn by Jeff Kirkham and Jason Ross. It was released on December 20 and debuted to a weak box office outing.

According to a report by Deadline, in its second weekend, the thriller is continuing to struggle. It appeared in under 2,000 theaters domestically and took ninth place at the box office. After a 66% drop on Friday, it is expected to earn a three-day total of just $3 million, while ushering in $5.2 million over the five-day holiday weekend. That would mark a total of just $12.7 million for its full run so far.

Stories about survivors in a post-apocalyptic world continue to fascinate viewers in such streaming series as “Fallout” and “The Last of Us,” but “Homestead” likely marks the first time such a scenario has been used for a faith-based movie. And it definitely is the first time a theatrical film in that genre has been designed as the pilot for a TV series — a fact that, when it becomes clear in the movie’s final minutes, may strike many viewers as a bait-and-switch trick.

Indeed, the TV series gets what can only be described as emphatic promotion in those final minutes, complete with a kinda-sorta coming attraction trailer (not entirely unlike the one Kevin Costner employed at the end of “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1”). One of the lead actors appears on camera to directly address audiences about what lies ahead, along with an on-screen Qr code that the audience can...