diff --git a/ffmpeg_opt.c b/ffmpeg_opt.c
index 79cb5caa34..69222dea7e 100644
--- a/ffmpeg_opt.c
+++ b/ffmpeg_opt.c
@@ -2438,8 +2438,10 @@ static int opt_vstats(void *optctx, const char *opt, const char *arg)
     time_t today2 = time(NULL);
     struct tm *today = localtime(&today2);
 
-    if (!today)
-        return AVERROR(errno);
+    if (!today) { // maybe tomorrow
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_FATAL, "Unable to get current time: %s\n", strerror(errno));
+        exit_program(1);
+    }
 
     snprintf(filename, sizeof(filename), "vstats_%02d%02d%02d.log", today->tm_hour, today->tm_min,
              today->tm_sec);