Blade Runner 2049 was by far this fall’s biggest box-office upset. A film that was almost unanimously praised by critics, but was a complete failure financially. The entire situation has made many people question if there is even a place for cerebral cinema in today’s market; a world saturated with sequels, comic-book adaptations, and big explodey summer blockbusters. So, more than a month later, the question still stands: why?
Well, chatting with Yahoo Entertainment, Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve seems like he is still trying to figure that out:
“I’m still digesting it. … I think because maybe people were not familiar enough with the universe. And the fact that the movie’s long [2 hours, 44 minutes run time]. I don’t know. It’s still a mystery to me. I make movies — I don’t sell them.”
Admittedly, there were some who didn’t enjoy the film, keywords being boring, or over-long. However, that seems only a small-percentage of viewers, and it’s doubtful this had much of a profound impact on box-office earnings. It certainly didn’t help that China, a key market, failed to show up when the film officially released in the mainland. Interestingly (or sadly, depending on who you are), Gerard Butler-vehicle Geostorm beat out Blade Runner 2049 in its opening weekend in China.
What did you think of Blade Runner 2049? Do you think we will see a sequel? Let us know in the comments!
Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Blade Runner 2049 sees Harrison Ford reprising the role of Rick Deckard alongside Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista, Jared Leto and Edward James Olmos.
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Originally published November 22, 2017. Updated December 18, 2019.
