'Blade Runner 2049' Has Disappointing Debut
by EG
Blade Runner 2049 was always going to be a hard sell for a broad audience. It was a critically acclaimed sequel to a 35-year-old sci-fi movie that appealed mostly to hardcore fans of the genre, and it was over two hours long. But there was hope that, thanks to the appeal of stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, that film would take in about $45 million over its first weekend. In the end, it earned much less than that.
Despite strong reviews and an A- CinemaScore, Denis Villeneuve's big-budget sequel Blade Runner 2049 careened off course in its North American debut over the weekend, even while placing No. 1.
The long-awaited follow-up to Ridley Scott's 1982 cult classic grossed $31.5 million from 4,058 theaters, a dismal start for a movie that cost $150 million to make after tax rebates and incentives. Heading into the weekend, all signs pointed to Blade Runner 2049 taking in $45 million or more. One issue: The sci-fi epic runs 163 minutes. To boot, it skewed heavily male (71 percent) and older, with 86 percent of the audience over the age of 25, including 63 percent over 35.
Blade Runner 2049 is a huge bet for Alcon Entertainment, which owns the film and co-financed it with Sony. Warner Bros. is handling domestic distribution duties per its deal with Alcon — backed by FedEx mogul Fred Smith — while Sony has international.
The event film rolled out in most major markets over the weekend, grossing a strong, but not spectacular, $50.2 million for a global bow of $81.5 million. Unless it overperforms in China, Japan and South Korea, where it has yet to open, Blade Runner 2049 isn't likely to meet its goal of earning at least $400 million worldwide. It opened No. 1 in 45 out of 63 markets, led by the U.K. with $8 million, 15 percent of Mad Max: Fury Road.
Villeneuve's sequel, made with Scott’s input, stars Ryan Gosling opposite Harrison Ford, who reprises his role as Rick Deckard. Jared Leto, Dave Bautista, Robin Wright and Ana de Armas also star. Blade Runner 2049 debuted notably behind October releases Gravity (2013) and The Martian (2015), which each launched to $54 million-plus, as well as behind another long-awaited sequel, Mad Max: Fury Road, which bowed to $45 million domestically in May 2015.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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